Pre-diagnostic Demographic, Lifestyle, and Health History Factors in Association with Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) Expression in Colorectal Cancer Tissue

Background: Demographic, health history, and lifestyle factors have been associated with prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC), but mechanisms underlying these associations remain poorly understood. A compelling mechanism involves changes in expression of tumor markers that influence treatment outcom...

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Main Authors: Umaimah Zanif, Jaclyn Parks, Isabella Tai, Stephen Yip, Sindy Babinszky, Katy Milne, Peter Watson, Rachel A. Murphy, Parveen Bhatti
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2025-05-01
Series:Biomarker Insights
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/11772719251339955
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author Umaimah Zanif
Jaclyn Parks
Isabella Tai
Stephen Yip
Sindy Babinszky
Katy Milne
Peter Watson
Rachel A. Murphy
Parveen Bhatti
author_facet Umaimah Zanif
Jaclyn Parks
Isabella Tai
Stephen Yip
Sindy Babinszky
Katy Milne
Peter Watson
Rachel A. Murphy
Parveen Bhatti
author_sort Umaimah Zanif
collection DOAJ
description Background: Demographic, health history, and lifestyle factors have been associated with prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC), but mechanisms underlying these associations remain poorly understood. A compelling mechanism involves changes in expression of tumor markers that influence treatment outcomes, such as secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC), lower levels of which have previously been associated with poorer CRC prognosis. Objective: We explored the association of factors that have been previously associated with CRC prognosis with expression of SPARC in tumor tissues. Design: We conducted a prospective evaluation of 50 participants of a longitudinal cohort study that went on to develop CRC. Methods: Tumor and normal tissue cores were taken from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) blocks of incident CRC cases and were used to create tissue microarrays (TMAs). Slides created from the TMAs were stained with SPARC antibodies and analyzed to calculate H-scores for both epithelial and non-epithelial components of tumor and normal tissues. H-scores were ln-transformed and analyzed in association with demographic, lifestyle, and health history factors assessed before cancer diagnosis using linear regression models. Results: In CRC tumor epithelium, smoking was associated with a 0.53-fold lower level of SPARC expression ( P  = .054). Higher income was associated with a 1.33-fold greater level of SPARC expression in tumor non-epithelial tissue ( P  = .041). Higher cancer stage was associated with a 0.74-fold lower level of non-epithelial tumor SPARC expression ( P  = .040). In the epithelial component of normal colorectal tissues, higher fruit consumption was associated with a 2.74-fold greater SPARC H-score ( P  = .002). Conclusions: The associations we observed for smoking, income, and cancer stage with SPARC in tumor tissue are consistent with previously established associations of these factors with CRC prognosis. Larger studies with prognostic data are needed, but our results suggest that differences in SPARC expression may contribute to previously observed impacts of various factors on CRC prognosis.
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spelling doaj-art-8d5c29a8f2384e92b7a3683351cc2b342025-08-20T01:52:42ZengSAGE PublishingBiomarker Insights1177-27192025-05-012010.1177/11772719251339955Pre-diagnostic Demographic, Lifestyle, and Health History Factors in Association with Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) Expression in Colorectal Cancer TissueUmaimah Zanif0Jaclyn Parks1Isabella Tai2Stephen Yip3Sindy Babinszky4Katy Milne5Peter Watson6Rachel A. Murphy7Parveen Bhatti8Cancer Control Research, BC Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, CanadaCancer Control Research, BC Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, CanadaDivision of Gastroenterology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, CanadaMolecular Oncology, BC Cancer Research Institute, Vancouver, CanadaDeeley Research Centre, BC Cancer, Victoria, BC, CanadaDeeley Research Centre, BC Cancer, Victoria, BC, CanadaDeeley Research Centre, BC Cancer, Victoria, BC, CanadaSchool of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, CanadaSchool of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, CanadaBackground: Demographic, health history, and lifestyle factors have been associated with prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC), but mechanisms underlying these associations remain poorly understood. A compelling mechanism involves changes in expression of tumor markers that influence treatment outcomes, such as secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC), lower levels of which have previously been associated with poorer CRC prognosis. Objective: We explored the association of factors that have been previously associated with CRC prognosis with expression of SPARC in tumor tissues. Design: We conducted a prospective evaluation of 50 participants of a longitudinal cohort study that went on to develop CRC. Methods: Tumor and normal tissue cores were taken from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) blocks of incident CRC cases and were used to create tissue microarrays (TMAs). Slides created from the TMAs were stained with SPARC antibodies and analyzed to calculate H-scores for both epithelial and non-epithelial components of tumor and normal tissues. H-scores were ln-transformed and analyzed in association with demographic, lifestyle, and health history factors assessed before cancer diagnosis using linear regression models. Results: In CRC tumor epithelium, smoking was associated with a 0.53-fold lower level of SPARC expression ( P  = .054). Higher income was associated with a 1.33-fold greater level of SPARC expression in tumor non-epithelial tissue ( P  = .041). Higher cancer stage was associated with a 0.74-fold lower level of non-epithelial tumor SPARC expression ( P  = .040). In the epithelial component of normal colorectal tissues, higher fruit consumption was associated with a 2.74-fold greater SPARC H-score ( P  = .002). Conclusions: The associations we observed for smoking, income, and cancer stage with SPARC in tumor tissue are consistent with previously established associations of these factors with CRC prognosis. Larger studies with prognostic data are needed, but our results suggest that differences in SPARC expression may contribute to previously observed impacts of various factors on CRC prognosis.https://doi.org/10.1177/11772719251339955
spellingShingle Umaimah Zanif
Jaclyn Parks
Isabella Tai
Stephen Yip
Sindy Babinszky
Katy Milne
Peter Watson
Rachel A. Murphy
Parveen Bhatti
Pre-diagnostic Demographic, Lifestyle, and Health History Factors in Association with Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) Expression in Colorectal Cancer Tissue
Biomarker Insights
title Pre-diagnostic Demographic, Lifestyle, and Health History Factors in Association with Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) Expression in Colorectal Cancer Tissue
title_full Pre-diagnostic Demographic, Lifestyle, and Health History Factors in Association with Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) Expression in Colorectal Cancer Tissue
title_fullStr Pre-diagnostic Demographic, Lifestyle, and Health History Factors in Association with Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) Expression in Colorectal Cancer Tissue
title_full_unstemmed Pre-diagnostic Demographic, Lifestyle, and Health History Factors in Association with Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) Expression in Colorectal Cancer Tissue
title_short Pre-diagnostic Demographic, Lifestyle, and Health History Factors in Association with Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine (SPARC) Expression in Colorectal Cancer Tissue
title_sort pre diagnostic demographic lifestyle and health history factors in association with secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine sparc expression in colorectal cancer tissue
url https://doi.org/10.1177/11772719251339955
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