Laminin Levels and Stage of Vascular Invasion as Predictive Factors of Liver Metastasis in Colon Cancer

The glycoprotein laminin mediates the adhesion of tumor cells to the basement membrane prior to invasion. In this study, we determined the laminin levels of the peripheral and returned venous blood in 46 colon cancer patients without detectable liver metastasis. The laminin levels of both peripheral and returned blood were significantly higher in the cases with vascular invasion compared to the group without it. However, no correlation was observed between the stage of vascular invasion and laminin levels.