Expressions of hepcidin and ferroportin in colorectal cancer and their associations with clinico-pathological features and anemia

Objective To study the expression features of iron metabolism-related hepcidin and ferroportin( FPN) in patients with colorectal cancer and their associations with clinical features and anemia. Methods The pathological specimens of 62 colorectal cancer patients that were surgically removed between January 2009 and January 2014 were collected,and matched normal intestinal mucosa tissues of para-carcinoma of 15 patients with colorectal cancer were selected as control.The expressions of hepcidin and FPN were detected by immunohistochemistry,and the correlation between them,their associations with clinico-pathological features and anemia were analyzed. Results The expression rate of hepcidin in colorectal cancer tissues increased compared with normal intestinal mucosa tissues( 66. 1% vs 20. 0%,P 0. 01). There was no significant difference in FPN expression rate between colorectal cancer tissues and normal intestinal mucosa tissues( 64. 5%vs 86. 7%,P 0. 05). The expression rate of hepcidin was related to staging of tumor( P 0. 05),but were not related to age,gender,lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis( all P 0. 05). The expression of FPN was related to staging of tumor and lymph node metastasis( P 0. 05,P 0. 01),but was not related to age,gender and distant metastasis( all P 0. 05). The anemia was not correlated with the expressions of hepcidin and FPN( r = 0. 08,- 0. 04,all P 0. 05). The hepcidin expression was negatively correlated with FPN expression( r =- 0. 39,P 0. 01). Conclusions The expression of hepcidin in colorectal cancer tissues is related to the staging of tumor,and negatively correlated with the FPN expression.The FPN expression is related to the staging of tumor and lymph node metastasis. The joint detection of hepcidin and FPN can serve as an objective index reflecting the biologic behavior of colorectal cancer. The preoperative anemia in gastrointestinal tumor patients is not related to the expressions of hepcidin and FPN in tumor tissues.