L-fucose as a terminal sugar in cellular glycoconjugates of colonic carcinoma

Glycoconjugates are a class of cell surface glycoproteins, the terminal sugars of which are important indicators of neoplasia and the aberrant biological behavior of cancer cells. Lectins are a class of plant or animal glycoproteins that specifically bind to the terminal sugars of glycoconjugates. The aim of the present study is to identify the presence of L-fucose in cell surface glycoconjugates and extracellular matrix glycoconjugates of cancer cells of different grades of colonic adenocarcinoma. Paraffin blocks of colonic adenocarcinoma tissue from 30 patients were collected from the Pathology Department of Khatam Al Anbia Hospital in Zahedan, Iran.