The Gene Expression of Cancer Stem Cells in Some Iraqi Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

Colorectal carcinoma is the most prevalent gastrointestinal malignancy globally. The availability of statistics on cancer in Iraq is limited, however it is recognized as one of the leading causes of mortality after cardiovascular disorders. The initiation of carcinogenesis in colorectal cancer (CRC) occurs within a subset of cancer cells known as Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs), which possess the capacity to initiate and sustain tumor development and invasion. Lgr5, a Leucine-rich-repeated-containing G-protein–coupled receptor 5, is a controlled recipient of Wnt/b-catenin signaling. It was initially recognized as a potential indicator of colorectal cancer stem cells. This study comprised of fifty-five paraffin-embedded blocks, with 31 (56.36%) being males and 24 (43.63%) being females. These blocks were obtained from patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma. Among all the samples, 25 (45.45%) were moderately differentiated, 20 (36.36%) were poorly differentiated, and the remaining 18.19% had poorly differentiated colorectal carcinoma. The patients' ages spanned from 20 to 80 years, with a mean age of 50.6±7.44 SE.In Iraqi patients, there was a significant difference in the overexpression of the LGR5 protein among different grades (P value=0.015, r=0.919). The expression of the cancer stem cell biomarker Lgr5 did not show a significant association with gender (P value=0.143, r=0.425), age group (P=0.510, r=0.284), or lymph-vascular and perinural invasions (p=0.268,r=0.192). The results of the study indicate that there was a significant difference in the overexpression of Lgr5 amongst tumors of different sizes (P value=0.0001, r=0.885).