Abstract
Background & Aims: The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARG, PPARgamma) is a nuclear receptor that regulates expression of mediators of lipid metabolism and the inflammatory response. There is controversy over the pro-oncogenic or antioncogenic effects of PPARG, and little is known about its prognostic significance in colon cancer. Methods: Among 470 patients with colorectal cancer (stages I-IV) identified in 2 independent prospective cohorts, PPARG expression was detected in 102 tumors (22%) by immunohistochemistry. Cox proportional hazards models were used to compute hazard ratios (HRs) of colorectal cancer-specific and overall mortalities, adjusted for patient characteristics and molecular features including cyclooxygenase 2, fatty acid synthase, KRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, p53, p21, β-catenin, LINE-1 hypomethylation, microsatellite instability (MSI), and the CpG island methylation phenotype (CIMP). Results: Compared with patients with PPARG-negative tumors, patients with PPARG-positive tumors had significantly lower overall mortality, determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis (P = .0047), univariate Cox regression (HR, 0.55; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.37-0.84; P = .0053), and multivariate analysis (adjusted HR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.27-0.69; P = .0004). Patients with PPARG-positive tumors experienced lower colorectal cancer-specific mortality (adjusted HR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.25-0.79; P = .0054). The relationship between PPARG and lower mortality did not appear to be significantly modified by MSI, CIMP, LINE-1, or the other clinical and molecular variables examined (all Pinteraction > .05). Conclusions: Tumor expression of PPARG is independently associated with longer survival of patients. PPARG expression appears to mark an indolent subset of colorectal cancers.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1242-1250 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Gastroenterology |
| Volume | 136 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2009 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Funding Supported by the National Institutes of Health (P01 CA87969, P01 CA55075, P50 CA127003, and K07 CA122826 to S.O.), the Bennett Family Fund, the Entertainment Industry Foundation National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance, and a fellowship grant from the Japanese Society for Promotion of Science (to K.N.). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Cancer Institute or National Institutes of Health. Funding agencies did not have any role in the design of the study; the collection, analysis, or interpretation of the data; the decision to submit the manuscript for publication; or the writing of the manuscript.
