L‐Cam expression in normal, premalignant, and malignant colon mucosa

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Abstract
L‐CAM is a cell adhesion molecule which is expressed at the intercellular borders of most epithelial cells. L‐CAM has been demonstrated to act as an invasion suppressor in carcinoma cell lines. In order to determine whether or not L‐CAM expression might distinguish between invasive and non‐invasive or metastatic and non‐metastatic colon neoplasms, we studied L‐CAM expression in normal colon mucosa, colon adenomas with various degrees of dysplasia, and colon carcinomas by immunohistochemistry, using the 6F9 monoclonal anti‐L‐CAM antibody. Normal mucosa showed evenly distributed distinct L‐CAM immunoreactivity along intercellular borders. In adenomas and carcinomas, a similar though weaker expression was observed. This pattern showed a tendency to decrease in parallel with decreasing differentiation. However, no correlation was found with Dukes stage or area within the tumour. In some carcinomas, L‐CAM was expressed at the luminal surface of the cells. In others, L‐CAM expression was not found. These results suggest that L‐CAM expression is disregulated or lost as an early event in the development of colon neoplasia and indicate that L‐CAM expression does not correlate with invasive or metastatic potential.