Skip to main content
British Journal of Cancer logoLink to British Journal of Cancer
. 1987 Dec;56(6):779–783. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1987.287

A critical appraisal of the immunohistochemical detection of the c-myc oncogene product in colorectal cancer.

D J Jones 1, A K Ghosh 1, M Moore 1, P F Schofield 1
PMCID: PMC2002390  PMID: 3325094

Abstract

Expression of c-myc was studied immunohistochemically in 100 colorectal carcinomas, using a monoclonal antibody, Myc 1-6E10, which is purported to recognize the oncoprotein (p62c-myc) in paraffin-embedded material. In normal epithelium, maturing crypt cells and terminally differentiated surface cells were positive, and proliferating basal crypt cells negative. All carcinomas stained positively, but intensity was independent of histological differentiation, Dukes' stage, DNA ploidy and survival. Staining was predominantly cytoplasmic despite the suspected nuclear location of p62c-myc and there was considerable staining of fibroblasts. When staining was compared in frozen and paraffin-embedded sections fixed in different ways, different patterns were observed. Acetone-fixed frozen sections exhibited weak nuclear and cytoplasmic staining or were negative. In formol-saline fixed frozen sections, there was stronger predominantly nuclear staining. In paraffin-embedded sections staining was predominantly cytoplasmic. This study suggests that c-myc expression is enhanced in the majority of colorectal carcinomas and although independent of clinical behaviour, may be a common event in malignant transformation. However, since staining is affected by fixation and processing, data obtained using Myc 1-6E10 on routinely processed specimens should be interpreted with caution.

Full text

PDF
779

Images in this article

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alitalo K., Ramsay G., Bishop J. M., Pfeifer S. O., Colby W. W., Levinson A. D. Identification of nuclear proteins encoded by viral and cellular myc oncogenes. Nature. 1983 Nov 17;306(5940):274–277. doi: 10.1038/306274a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Barbacid M. Oncogenes and human cancer: cause or consequence? Carcinogenesis. 1986 Jul;7(7):1037–1042. doi: 10.1093/carcin/7.7.1037. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bishop J. M. Viral oncogenes. Cell. 1985 Aug;42(1):23–38. doi: 10.1016/s0092-8674(85)80098-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Carney W. P., Petit D., Hamer P., Der C. J., Finkel T., Cooper G. M., Lefebvre M., Mobtaker H., Delellis R., Tischler A. S. Monoclonal antibody specific for an activated RAS protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1986 Oct;83(19):7485–7489. doi: 10.1073/pnas.83.19.7485. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Ciclitira P. J., Macartney J. C., Evan G. Expression of c-myc in non-malignant and pre-malignant gastrointestinal disorders. J Pathol. 1987 Apr;151(4):293–296. doi: 10.1002/path.1711510409. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Cole M. D. The myc oncogene: its role in transformation and differentiation. Annu Rev Genet. 1986;20:361–384. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.20.120186.002045. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Covington M., Sikora K., Turner M. J., White J. O., Moore P., Soutter W. P. C-myc expression in cervical cancer. Lancet. 1987 May 30;1(8544):1260–1261. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(87)92706-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Eisenman R. N., Tachibana C. Y., Abrams H. D., Hann S. R. V-myc- and c-myc-encoded proteins are associated with the nuclear matrix. Mol Cell Biol. 1985 Jan;5(1):114–126. doi: 10.1128/mcb.5.1.114. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Eisenman R. N., Thompson C. B. Oncogenes with potential nuclear function: myc, myb and fos. Cancer Surv. 1986;5(2):309–327. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Evan G. I., Hancock D. C. Studies on the interaction of the human c-myc protein with cell nuclei: p62c-myc as a member of a discrete subset of nuclear proteins. Cell. 1985 Nov;43(1):253–261. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(85)90030-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Evan G. I., Lewis G. K., Ramsay G., Bishop J. M. Isolation of monoclonal antibodies specific for human c-myc proto-oncogene product. Mol Cell Biol. 1985 Dec;5(12):3610–3616. doi: 10.1128/mcb.5.12.3610. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Ghosh A. K., Moore M., Harris M. Immunohistochemical detection of ras oncogene p21 product in benign and malignant mammary tissue in man. J Clin Pathol. 1986 Apr;39(4):428–434. doi: 10.1136/jcp.39.4.428. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Hann S. R., Eisenman R. N. Proteins encoded by the human c-myc oncogene: differential expression in neoplastic cells. Mol Cell Biol. 1984 Nov;4(11):2486–2497. doi: 10.1128/mcb.4.11.2486. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Hedley D. W., Friedlander M. L., Taylor I. W., Rugg C. A., Musgrove E. A. Method for analysis of cellular DNA content of paraffin-embedded pathological material using flow cytometry. J Histochem Cytochem. 1983 Nov;31(11):1333–1335. doi: 10.1177/31.11.6619538. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Hendy-Ibbs P., Cox H., Evan G. I., Watson J. V. Flow cytometric quantitation of DNA and c-myc oncoprotein in archival biopsies of uterine cervix neoplasia. Br J Cancer. 1987 Mar;55(3):275–282. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1987.53. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Jack A. S., Kerr I. B., Evan G., Lee F. D. The distribution of the c-myc oncogene product in malignant lymphomas and various normal tissues as demonstrated by immunocytochemistry. Br J Cancer. 1986 Jun;53(6):713–719. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1986.123. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Jones D. J., Moore M., Schofield P. F. Prognostic significance of DNA ploidy in colorectal cancer: a prospective flow cytometric study. Br J Surg. 1988 Jan;75(1):28–33. doi: 10.1002/bjs.1800750111. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Klein G., Klein E. Evolution of tumours and the impact of molecular oncology. Nature. 1985 May 16;315(6016):190–195. doi: 10.1038/315190a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Leibovitz A., Stinson J. C., McCombs W. B., 3rd, McCoy C. E., Mazur K. C., Mabry N. D. Classification of human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell lines. Cancer Res. 1976 Dec;36(12):4562–4569. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Meltzer S. J., Ahnen D. J., Battifora H., Yokota J., Cline M. J. Protooncogene abnormalities in colon cancers and adenomatous polyps. Gastroenterology. 1987 May;92(5 Pt 1):1174–1180. doi: 10.1016/s0016-5085(87)91074-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Robinson A., Williams A. R., Piris J., Spandidos D. A., Wyllie A. H. Evaluation of a monoclonal antibody to ras peptide, RAP-5, claimed to bind preferentially to cells of infiltrating carcinomas. Br J Cancer. 1986 Dec;54(6):877–883. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1986.256. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Sikora K., Chan S., Evan G., Gabra H., Markham N., Stewart J., Watson J. c-myc oncogene expression in colorectal cancer. Cancer. 1987 Apr 1;59(7):1289–1295. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19870401)59:7<1289::aid-cncr2820590710>3.0.co;2-o. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Sikora K., Evan G., Stewart J., Watson J. V. Detection of the c-myc oncogene product in testicular cancer. Br J Cancer. 1985 Aug;52(2):171–176. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1985.174. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Stewart J., Evan G., Watson J., Sikora K. Detection of the c-myc oncogene product in colonic polyps and carcinomas. Br J Cancer. 1986 Jan;53(1):1–6. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1986.1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Watson J. V., Sikora K., Evan G. I. A simultaneous flow cytometric assay for c-myc oncoprotein and DNA in nuclei from paraffin embedded material. J Immunol Methods. 1985 Oct 24;83(1):179–192. doi: 10.1016/0022-1759(85)90071-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Watson J. V., Stewart J., Evan G. I., Ritson A., Sikora K. The clinical significance of flow cytometric c-myc oncoprotein quantitation in testicular cancer. Br J Cancer. 1986 Mar;53(3):331–337. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1986.56. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Weinberg R. A. The action of oncogenes in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Science. 1985 Nov 15;230(4727):770–776. doi: 10.1126/science.2997917. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Cancer are provided here courtesy of Cancer Research UK

RESOURCES