Preliminary study on the expression of Estrogen Receptor Beta (ERβ) in colorectal carcinoma

• Main Authors: Azmahani, Abdullah, Nor Hidayah, Abu Bakar, Keh, Min Xuan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Penerbit Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin 2020
• Subjects: QH301 Biology
• Online Access: http://eprints.unisza.edu.my/7460/1/FH02-FSK-20-48099.pdf; http://eprints.unisza.edu.my/7460/

Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) has been an important public health problem. It stands at the top of oncologic pathology and it is the third most common cancer diagnosed in men and women in the world. Previous researchers found that the risk of developing CRC is slightly lower in women than in men. This suggested that the hormone estrogen plays a role in the development of CRC. Estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) is the predominant estrogen receptor (ER) in human colon. Therefore, it is reasonable to study ERβ status and the physiological significance of these ERβs in colorectal cancer. The objective of this study was to determine the expression of ERβ) in CRC patients and its relationship with the age and gender. ERβ expression in CRC was investigated by immunohistochemical staining of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections from 10 CRCs patients. The association between ERβ expression with the age and gender was evaluated by using Pearson’s Chi Square Test. The results of the immunohistochemistry (IHC) demonstrated that out of these 10 cases studied, most of them (70%) were ERβ positive whereas three out of the cases (30%) were ERβ negative. About 57.14% (n=4) and 42.86% (n=3) were scored as 2+ and 3+ respectively. No significant association (P>0.05) was noted between ERβ expression with the patients’ age (P=0.778) and gender (P=0.490). In conclusion, many CRCs cases were positive for ERβ. These results highlighted on the presence of ERβ in CRC tissue samples and it is suggested to introduce them as a potential application for early diagnosis, staging, prognosis and treatment of CRC. Studies with a larger number of sample sizes using standardized tests are needed to understand the exact biological role of ERβ in CRC.