Dysregulated KDR and FLT1 Gene Expression in Colorectal Cancer Patients

摘要

Background:Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly-diagnosed malignancies throughout theworld and the fourth-leading cause of cancer deaths globally. Angiogenesis and the resultant tumorneovascularization is a well-known cancer hallmark. Here we investigated the expression of FLT1 and KDR,the influential genes in angiogenesis regulation, in CRC patients.Methods: We assessed FLT1 and KDR mRNA expression in 47 CRC samples and matched adjacent noncanceroustissues (ANCT) by quantitative real-time PCR. The Spearmen correlation coefficient and receiveroperating characteristic (ROC) curves were also examined.Results:Both genes were expressed at significantly greater levels in CRC tissues than in ANCT (p 0.05). Asignificant association was found between KDR expression and disease stage and lymph status in CRC patients.Furthermore, the Spearman correlation demonstrated a moderate correlation between FLT1 and KDR expressionin CRC samples. Finally, ROC curve analysis demonstrated that FLT1 had the greatest sensitivity (85.1%), whilethe greatest specificity was achieved by a combination of the two genes.Conclusions:The dysregulated FLT1and KDRexpression, in addition to the observed correlation and ROC curveresults, indicate the critical importance of angiogenesis among the cancer pathways in CRC. These data can broadenour current knowledge of angiogenesis in CRC to improve disease diagnosis and patient treatment.