Expression of survivin gene in human colorectal adenocarcinoma and its cilinal implication

Objective: To explore the correlation between expression of survivin gene in human colorectal adenocarcinoma and its clinical effects. Methods: By using semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique, survivin gene expression in 29 previously untreated colorectal adenocarcinoma patients was studyed. The relationships between the expression levels of survivin mRNA and the patient's characteristics, including tumor size,patients' age,lymph node or liver metastisis, presence of invasion degree,clinical stage, and histological grade were analyzed.Results: Survivin gene expression percentage in mucosal tissues of colorectal adenocarcinoma patients were significantly higher than that of normal colorectal mucosa (72.4%,21/29 vs 0/6). The average semi-quantitative analysis result of 29 cases was 0.614±0.39 . Further analysis showed that the expression level of survivin mRNA was significantly associated with clinical stage, lymph node and liver metestasis (P0.05) respectively. Conclusion:Survivin is expressed in the majority of human colorectal adenocarcinoma and correlates with its clinicopathological factors. These findings suggest that survivin overexpression may play a pivotal role in the progression of colorectal tumors and may provide an important prognostic implication for colorectal carcinomas.It concludes that the survivin mRNA is a defining diagnostic marker for colorectal carcinomas that may also yield prognostic information.