A Clinicopathological Study of B-catenin in Colorectal Adenomas

Background and objectives: Colorectal adenomas are considered benign tumors, which originate from the mucus-secreting colonic epithelium creating polyps that protrude into the lumen of the intestine. B-catenin is a member of the catenin protein family and it has a dual function that controls the coordination of cell-cell adhesion and gene transcription. The aim of this study was to investigate the immune expression of B - catenin in colorectal adenomas and to describe B-catenin correlation with clinicopathological parameters. Methods: This study was retrospective in nature and performed on 94 formalin-fixed tissue blocks which were obtained from the histopathology department at Rizgary Hospital and some private laboratories in Erbil city during the period from 2014- 2018, The tissue cuts were prepared in 4 um thick and placed on special salinized slides, samples were deparaffinized and put into a buffer solution for 20 min at 95-99°C, cooled in room temperature for 20 min. Results: The expression of B - catenin was seen in 73.4% of the samples, 41.5% of them with grade II while 31.9% exhibited grade III and 26.6% had grade I B -catenin expression. Except for the type of polyp, there was no statistically significant association between B- catenin expression and the clinicopathological. For patients diagnosed with multiple adenomas, the size of the polyp and grade of expression were remarkably different between the various polyps of the same patient. Conclusions: No statistically significant association between B-catenin expression and clinicopathological parameters except for the type of adenoma.