e22062 Background: NF-kB, p53, Survivin, Ki-67 and Bcl-2 expressions have been demonstrated to be prognostic factors in solid tumors. The aim of our analysis was to investigate the importance of their expression, as prognostic factors in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer patients receiving receiving neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy Methods: We analyzed the expression of NF-kB, p53, Survivin, Ki-67 and Bcl-2 in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who underwent neoadjuvant treatment (radiotherapy ± chemotherapy) at our Department Results: Seventy-four patients were eligible for our analysis. Median age at diagnosis was 66 years (range 36–85). Male/female ratio was 47/37; 37 patients (90%) were diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, whilst 4/41 (10%) with mucinous adenocarcinoma. All the patients received radiotherapy ± 5-fuorouracil/capecitabile-based chemotherapy. Median follow up was 28 months (range 6,7–56,6 months). At univariate and multivariate analysis of the above mentioned parameters, NF-kB, Ki67 and bcl-2 showed an impact on outcome.In particular, in NF-kB-strongly positive patients time to progression (TTP) and overall survival were significantly shorter (p=0,011 and p=0,018 respectively). Moreover a high expression of Ki-67 and a low expression of bcl-2 were associated with a better TTP Conclusions: Our results suggest that NF-kB, bcl-2 and Ki-67 could represent important parameters able to predict the outcome in patients receiving neoadjuvant treatment for rectal cancer. Further prospective studies are warranted in order to confirm the prognostic role of the above mentioned factors in this setting. This could be useful in order to select patients to receive adjuvant chemotherapy after neoadjuvant treatment and surgery for locally advanced rectal cancer, intensifying the adjuvant therapy in some groups of patients and obviating the use of the some drugs (i.e. those involving NF-kB in their mechanism of action) in selected patients No significant financial relationships to disclose.
Circulating tumor cells: A promising marker of predicting tumor response in rectal cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemo-radiation therapy
