A new indicator of poor prognosis in node-negative colorectal cancer patients
Tumour budding at the invasive tumour front of colorectal cancer is recognised as an independent prognostic factor significantly related to both lymph node and distant metastasis. Several lines of evidence seem to suggest that tumour buds may, to some extent, represent malignant colorectal cancer stem cells because of their potential for migration and re-differentiation locally and at sites of metastasis. However, phenotypic characterisation of cancer stem cells in general is still debated although at least 8 putative stem cell markers have been suggested including CD166, CD44s, EpCAM, ALDH1, CD133, CD24, CD90, and ABCG5. Little is known about the potential of these proteins to act as prognostic biomarkers in patients with colorectal cancer and most of these proteins have never before been explored within tumour buds themselves...
