Objective  The current work aims to investigate the expression of Sox-2 and Oct-4 in colon carcinoma and its relationship with relapse and metastasis.

  Methods  The expression of Oct-4 and Sox-2 was detected in 80 cases of colon cancer tissue by immunohistochemical assay. The correlation of the Oct-4 and Sox-2 expression with histological differentiation, T stage, N stage, and metastasis was analyzed. The level of Oct-4 and Sox-2 expression in the cancer and normal paraneoplastic tissues was evaluated using RT-PCR.

  Results  Metastasis was observed in 35 of all the 80 cases studied. The positive rate of Sox-2 and Oct-4 in the metastasis group was 48.57% (17/35) and 51.43% (18/35), respectively, whereas it was 17.78% (8/45) and 13.33% (6/45) in the non-metastasis group. Significant differences were observed between the two groups (P = 0.001). The expression of Oct-4 and Sox-2 was not associated with differentiation, T stage, or N stage of the tumor. The group with positive expression of Oct-4 and Sox-2 showed high metastatic rate. The survival analysis showed that the time of metastasis was significantly different in the groups with various expressions (P = 0.001). The positive expression rate of Sox-2 and Oct-4 detected by RT-PCR in colonic carcinoma tissues was 40% (8/20) and 45% (9/20) respectively, higher than that in normal tissues.

  Conclusion  The expression of Sox-2 and Oct-4 in tumor tissue can predict postoperative relapse and metastasis of colon carcinoma.