Expression of hepatocyte growth factor and c-Met is characteristic of α-fetoprotein-producing colorectal adenocarcinoma: A report of three cases
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- Published online on: November 24, 2015 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2015.3964
- Pages: 731-734
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Abstract
α-fetoprotein (AFP)-producing colorectal adenocarcinoma is rare and typically not well recognized. In the present study, 3 cases of AFP‑producing colorectal cancer are described. All 3 of these cases demonstrated increased levels of blood AFP associated with disease progression. Only case 2 exhibited classical histological hepatoid features. Following immunohistochemical tissue staining, all 3 cases were observed to be positive for AFP expression. In addition, the expression of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), c‑Met receptor and the transcription factor c‑Myc were identified to be associated with the expression of AFP. The 3 cases demonstrated resistance to multiple drugs, including epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors, despite the presence of wild‑type Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (K‑RAS; codons 12 and 13), neuroblastoma‑RAS (codons 12 and 13) and B‑Raf proto‑oncogene, serine/threonine kinase (V600E). We propose that hepatoid histological features or a positive AFP finding by immunohistochemistry are sufficient for a diagnosis of AFP‑producing colorectal adenocarcinoma. Furthermore, we speculates that autocrine HGF/c‑Met activation may be capable of inducing the dedifferentiation of common adenocarcinoma cells, reverting them to a cancer stem cell state and producing AFP or hepatoid differentiation. Consequently, therapy targeted to the HGF/c-Met signaling pathway may potentially be effective for the treatment of AFP-producing colorectal adenocarcinoma.
