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Leptin acts as an adipocytokine functions via the leptin receptor, which stimulates growth, migration, and invasion of cancer cells. This study is aimed at identifying leptin as a prognostic factor in colorectal cancer (CRC). The differentially expressed genes with prognostic value in CRC tissues either with or without liver metastasis were assessed based on The Cancer Genomic Atlas (TCGA). Leptin was considered a candidate gene for further analysis. Its expression features of 206 CRC patients without liver metastasis and 201 patients with metastasis on tissue microarrays were assessed by immunochemical staining, and the effect of leptin on survival was assessed by Kaplan-Meier analyses. Overexpressed leptin indicated a poorer prognosis for CRC patients in overall survival (p<0.05, log-rank test) based on the TCGA database. The leptin expression significantly correlated with metastasis stage (p<.010) and lymph node involvement (p<.010). Multivariate analysis also indicated that strong leptin expression was an independent adverse prognosticator in CRC (p=.017). Leptin may be valued as a prognostic marker could contribute to predicting a clinical outcome for patients with CRC.

The primary aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) imaging parameters and clinicopathological features of rectal carcinoma and assess their potential as new radiological prognostic predictors. A total of 66 rectal carcinoma patients were analyzed with the time-intensity curve of CEUS. The parameter arrival time (AT), time to peak enhancement (TTP), wash-in time (WIT), enhanced intensity (EI), and ascending slope (AS) were measured. Microvessel density (MVD) was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining of surgical specimens. All findings were analysed prospectively and correlated with tumor staging, histological grading, and MVD. The mean values of AT, TTP, WIT, EI, and AS value of the rectal carcinoma were10.84±3.28 s,20.61±5.52 s,9.78±2.83 s,28.68±4.67 dB, and3.20±1.10, respectively. A positive linear correlation was found between the EI and MVD in rectal carcinoma(r=0.295,P=0.016), and there was a significant difference for EI among histological grading(r=-0.264,P=0.007). EI decreased as T stage increased with a trend of association noted(P=0.096). EI of contrast enhanced endorectal ultrasonography provides noninvasive biomarker of tumor angiogenesis in rectal cancer. CEUS data have the potential to predict patient prognosis.