Significance of ELF3 mRNA expression for detection of lymph node metastases of colorectal cancer.

Lymph node (LN) evaluation is an important factor for the prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). The purpose of our study was to investigate the effectiveness of E74-like factor 3 (ELF3) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as useful markers to detect LN metastases in CRC. We examined the mRNA expression of ELF3 and CEA in LNs and tissues from 22 patients with CRC and in controls with ulcerative colitis (UC) by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, as well as by hematoxylin-eosin staining. ELF3 and CEA expression showed statistically significant differences among four LN groups: LNs from patients with CRC categorized into three Dukes' stages and LNs from patients with UC (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively). We found a statistical correlation between the expression levels of both markers in patients with CRC compared with each Dukes' stage. ELF3, as a gene marker, may be sufficiently practical to detect LN metastases of CRC, rather than CEA.