Preoperative serum levels of soluble endoglin for prediction of recurrence in stage III colorectal cancer patients.

BACKGROUND To evaluate the clinical usefulness of serum levels of soluble form of endoglin in stage III colorectal adenocarcinomas (CRC) patients for detection of recurrence. METHODS The case-control study consisted of 80 stage III CRC patients who underwent surgery with curative intent and 70 age-and sex-matched healthy volunteers. Serum levels of soluble form of endoglin (sol-end) were measured in both groups. Also, predictive factors of recurrence were evaluated using multivariate analyses. RESULTS Serum levels of sol-end in stage III CRC patients were significantly higher than those in controls. There was not a significant association between serum levels of sol-end and clinicopathological features in CRC patients. Multivariate regression analysis showed the LNR (hazard ratio, 2.54; 95% CI, 1.46-4.34; p < 0.001), to be significant independent factors to estimate local recurrence in stage III CRC patients. CONCLUSION Preoperative serum levels of sol-end do not seem useful as a marker for detection of recurrence in stage III CRC patients.