Expression of PTEN protein and its clinical pathological significance in colorectal cancer

OBJECTIVE:To detect the expression of tumor supprecsor PTEN protein in human benign or malignant lesions of the large intestine and investigate its clinical significance in colorectal cancer. METHODS: A total of 110 colorectal cancer tissues, 13 adjacent carcinoma tissues, 17 adenomatous tissues, and 8 normal colorectal tissues were assayed by immunohistochemical S-P methods. The relationship between the expression of PTEN protein and clinical pathological features in colorectal cancer was analyzed. RESULTS:The positive rate of PTEN detected in 65(59.1%) colorectal cancer tissues was much lower (P0.05) than that in 13(76.9%) adjacent carcinoma tissues, in 17(76.4%) adenomatous tissues, and 8(100%) nomal colorectal tissues. The positive rate or the expression level of PTEN in colorectal cancer with lymph node metastases was lower than those in colorectal cancer without lymph node metastases. The level of PTEN was increased with the up regulation of differentiation. The more advanced Duck’s stage, the lower level of PTEN was. CONCLUSIONS:The expression of PTEN is lost or low, and it has a correlation with clinical pathological features in colorectal cancer. It may be a good biomarker, being helpful to assess clinical pathological features in colorectal cancer.