Expression of PCNA and Apoptosis in Human Colorectal Carcinoma and Their Clinical Significance

Objective To study the apoptosis and the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen(PCNA) in colorectal carcinoma and their clinical significance.Methods Apoptotic index(AI) and proliferative index(PI)were determined in paraffin-embeded tissues from 62 cases of colorectal carcinoma and 10 cases of normal colon mucosa with immunohistochemistry S-P method and TUNEL technique.Results PI in colorectal carcinoma was increased and AI was declined compared with in normal colon mucosa.The difference between two groups was significant(P0.01).With Dukes stage advancing,PI enhanced,meanwhile AI declined.AI and PI were also correlated with differentiation and lymph node metastasis.Combined analysis of apoptosis and PCNA expression indicated that high PI with low AI had a more possibility to result in lymph node metastasis than other abnormal patterns in colorectal carcinoma(P0.01).Conclusion The extent of imbalance between colorectal carcinoma cell proliferation and apoptosis is correlated to degree of malignancy.The patient with high PI and low AI may have more possiblity to result in metastasis of colorectal carcinoma.It will be helpful for predicting the long-term prognosis and evaluating clinical stages of colorectal carcinoma with both PCNA and apoptosis examination.