# Diagnostic significance of CD10 marker to differentiate colorectal adenocarcinoma from adenomatous polyp: A pathological correlation

## TL;DR

This study shows that CD10 expression helps distinguish between colorectal adenocarcinoma and adenomatous polyps, with higher levels linked to more severe disease.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates CD10's diagnostic value in differentiating colorectal cancer from polyps using immunohistochemistry.

## Key findings

- CD10 expression was significantly higher in high-grade polyps and adenocarcinomas compared to low-grade polyps.
- Epithelial CD10 levels were higher in well-differentiated adenocarcinomas than in moderate or poorly differentiated ones.
- CD10 expression correlated with dysplasia degree and tumor invasion in pre-neoplastic lesions.

## Abstract

Colorectal cancer could be developed from adenomatous polyp. The study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic significance of stromal and epithelial CD10 (Neprilysin) expression in patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma and adenomatous polyps.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 141 patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma and adenomatous polyps referred to Ayatollah Rouhani Hospital from March 2020 to March 2021. Differential diagnoses of colorectal adenocarcinoma and adenomatous polyps were made colonoscopically, and then samples were taken from the lesions. The pathologists confirmed the final diagnosis as colorectal adenocarcinoma, high-grade or low-grade adenomatous polyps. The stromal and epithelial CD10 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. The data was analyzed by SPSS 22 software (p<0.05).

Sixty-five (46.1%) of the cases were low-grade polyps that were included positive (4 cases; 6.20%) and negative (61 cases; 93.80%) CD10 expression (P=0.001), also 76 (53.9%) of them were either high-grade polyps (21 cases) or adenocarcinomas (21 cases). Also, epithelial CD10 expression was significantly higher in the well-differentiated adenocarcinoma (38 cases) group than moderate (13 cases) and poor (4 cases) groups (P =0.001). Moreover, the CD10 expression level in the adenomatous polyps (10 positive cases and 76 negative cases) was correlated with the degree of dysplasia (P = 0.001) and the presence of tumor invasion (8 positive cases and 133 negative cases) (P = 0.001).

The CD10 expression is associated with an increased degree of dysplasia and the presence of tumor invasion in patients with pre-neoplastic lesions and colorectal adenocarcinoma.