By measuring levels of a protein in tumor cells, doctors may be able to predict which people with colorectal cancer will survive five years or more, researchers say.
Their study showed that levels of the protein called thymidylate synthase (TS) within two separate compartments of a tumor cell — the nucleus and the cytoplasm — may be markers for predicting survival among people with colorectal cancer.
For the study, the researchers measured TS levels in tissue samples from 518 colorectal cancer patients diagnosed between 1970 and 1981.
The researchers looked at the ratio between TS levels in the nucleus and in the cytoplasm and found that a low ratio predicted increased survival. Specifically, 65 percent of people with the lower ratio lived for five years or more vs. 45 percent of those with the higher ratio.