Abstract:
Objective The present study aimed to examine the expression of mismatch repair genes, namely, human mutL homolog 1 (hMLH1) and human mutL homolog 2 (hMSH2), in colorectal carcinoma, and to investigate the relationship of hMLH1 and hMSH2 expression with clinicopathological features.
Methods Seventy-two patients with pathologically colorectal carcinoma and underwent surgical resection were included in the study.All patients did not undergo preoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy.Immunohistochemical method was used to examine the hMLH1 and hMSH2 expressions in the colorectal carcinoma.The correlation of hMLH1 and hMSH2 expression with pathological features was investigated.
Results The loss rate of hMSH2 expression in colorectal cancer tissue was higher than that in normal tissue (88.9% vs.28.0%, χ2=37.622, P < 0.001).The loss rate of hMSH2 expression increased with T staging, but without significant difference.The loss rate of hMSH2 expression in patients with lymph node metastases was 97.6%, whereas the rate was 77.4% in patients with no lymph node metastases.Moreover, the results were significant (χ2=7.251, P= 0.007).The loss rate of hMLH1 expression in colorectal cancer tissue was 90.3% (65/72).The loss rate of hMLH1 expression was not correlated with tumor site, tumor stage, and tumor grade.
Conclusion The combined detection of hMLH-1 and hMSH-2 expressions may be used to evaluate the prognosis of colorectal cancer.