Objective: To explore the expression pattern of Mus81 gene in Chinese Han patients with colorectal cancer and analyze its correlation with the clinicopathological parameters and the tumor markers.
Methods: Mus81 expression was detected using nested quantitative real-time PCR in the colorectal cancer tissues and corresponding adjacent normal tissues from 43 Chinese Han patients. The correlations of Mus81 expression profile with the clinicopathological parameters and common tumor markers were evaluated.
Results: Mus81 expression level was significantly lower in the colorectal cancer tissues than in the corresponding adjacent normal tissues (114.6 ± 68.0 vs 202.5 ± 109.0, P<0.001). Of the 43 patients, 32 (74.4%) showed down-regulated Mus81 expression, which correlated significantly with distant metastasis (P=0.043), high TNM stage (P=0.022) and high P53 protein expression (P=0.011) of the tumor.
Conclusion: Down-regulation of Mus81 in colorectal cancer is correlated with tumor metastasis and progression, suggesting the value of Mus81 as a potential marker for colorectal cancer in Chinese Han patients.