Purpose: One of the most common cancers in the world is colorectal cancer, which has increased significantly in recent decades. In the carcinogenicity process in the colon, there are genes involved in various cellular processes, such as cell cycle, apoptosis, and cell migration. According to studies carried out, both miR-506 and SPON 1 genes are involved in the process which initiates and promotes cancer. In this study, alterations in the expression of target genes from the viewpoint of carcinogenicity were studied and evaluated.
Methods: Fifty tumor tissues and normal marginal tissue were collected from patients who were undergoing colorectal cancer surgery. After the extraction of RNA, the real-time PCR method was performed to evaluate the gene expression. Also, alterations of gene expression in response to defined amounts of chemotherapeutic drugs (IC50) were evaluated. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: The relative expression level of miR-506 in tumor tissues was significantly decreased in comparison with healthy marginal tissues (P = 0.044). On the other hand, the SPON1 gene expression level was decreased too in tumor tissues in comparison with healthy marginal tissues (P = 0.019). There was also a significant relationship between the expression of target genes and clinicopathological involvement. However, there was no significant alteration in these genes along with the chemotherapeutic drug.
Conclusion: These findings suggest that the relative expression of miR-506 and SPON 1 gene can be considered as a diagnostic or predictive biomarker for colorectal cancer. However, further studies on protein levels should be conducted.
Keywords: CRC; Diagnosis; Prognosis; SPON1; Treatment; miR-506.