The Study of TP,TS and the Modulation Agent INF-γ in the Fluoropyrimidine Activity for Colorectal Cancer

Objective To investigate the expression of thymidine phosphorylase( TP) and thymidylate synthase( TS) in colorectal cancer and the effects of the modulation agent interferon-γ( INF-γ) in the use of fluorouracil( 5-FU). Methods The expression levels of TP,TS were analyzed in colorectal cancer tissue( 48 cases) and normal tissue( 48 cases) by immunohistochemical methods. The inhibition ratio of the cultured cells was analyzed with different concentration of INF-γ or without INF-γ. Results The expression of TP and TS were significantly increased in colorectal cancer tissue comparing with the normal colon tissue( P 0. 05). The expression of TP and TS was significantly related with the gender,differentiation,lymph node metastasis and TNM staging of patients. The TP and TS expression was weak without the induction of INF-γ,and the expression of TPmRNA and TSmRNA significantly increased when the INF-γ was added. Conclusion TS,TP expression levels may be used as 5-FU sensitivity evaluation criteria in colorectal carcinoma patients. And the pretreatment by INF-γ can induce the TS and TP expression in colorectal cancer tissues,thereby enhancing the anti-tumor effects of 5-FU.