Neuroendocrine differentiation is predictive of poor survival in patients with stage II colorectal cancer

The diagnosis of neuroendocrine differentiation (NED) is made primarily on the basis of ultrastructure and/or immunohistochemistry (IHC). Synaptophysin (Syn) and chromogranin A (CgA) are two important frequently used NED markers in colorectal cancer (CRC). The association between NED and the prognosis of stage II CRC remains controversial. Administration of adjuvant chemotherapy remains challenging for stage II CRC. Identification of reliable factors that improve the selection of patients with stage II CRC at high risk following surgery is of great importance. A total of 151 cases of patients with stage II CRC who received radical surgery in The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University (Hangzhou, China) between January 2002 and March 2011 were assayed for Syn and CgA using IHC, following which patients were classified as NED(+) or NED(-). Survival curves were constructed using the Kaplan-Meier estimator, and the prognostic value was determined using a log-rank test and Cox's regression test. In the 151 cases of stage II CRC examined, the incidence of NED was 34.44%. The overall survival of the NED(+) group was significantly less favorable than that of the NED(-) group (P=0.001). The 5-year survival rate was 68% for NED(+) (n=51) and 90% for NED(-) (n=97). The independent prognostic factors of survival of patients with stage II CRC following multivariate analysis were age ≥65 years (P=0.007) and NED-positivity (P=0.014). NED was revealed to be an independent factor of poor prognosis for patients with stage II CRC, which may offer potential for improved therapy stratification.