Objective  This study aimed to investigate the expression levels of centrosome-associated kinase Aurora-A, mutant type P53(mt-P53), and c-myc in colorectal cancer.This study was also conducted to investigate the mutual relationship and functions of these factors in tumorigenesis and tumor progression.

  Methods  We examined the pathological specimens obtained from colorectal cancer, pericancerous tissues, and normal colorectal tissues by tissue microarray technique and immunohistochemistry (SP method) to determine the expression levels of Aurora-A, mt-P53, and c-myc proteins.The clinicopathological parameters were then analyzed.

  Results  The positive rates of Aurora-A expression in normal colorectal tissues, pericancerous tissues, and colorectal cancer were 0%, 35%, and 69% respectively; by comparison, the positive rates of mt-P53 were 0%, 20%, and 57%, respectively.For c-myc, the positive rates were 0, 37%, and 76%, respectively.The expression levels of Aurora-A, mt-P53, and c-myc were significantly higher in tumor tissues than in normal colorectal tissues and pericancerous tissues (P < 0.01).Aurora-A overexpression was related to the depth of invasion (P < 0.05).Mt-P53 and c-myc overexpression was related to the depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, and Dukes'classification (P < 0.05).A strong positive correlation was observed between the expressions of Aurora-A, mt-P53, and c-myc in colorectal cancer (r= 0.362, P < 0.01;r=0.487, P < 0.01).A strong positive correlation was also observed between the expressions of mt-P53 and c-myc in colorectal cancer (r=0.242, P < 0.01).

  Conclusion  The overexpression of Aurora-A and c-myc and the mutation of P53 were important in tumorigenesis, tumor invasion, and metastasis of colorectal cancer.Thus, the co-detection of Aurora-A, mt-P53, and c-myc may be useful for the early diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer.