Expression of PCNA and CD44mRNA in colorectal cancer with venous invasion and its relationship to liver metastasis

AIM: To investigate the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and CD44mRNA in colorectal cancer with venous invasion and its relationship with liver metastasis.METHODS: Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of PCNA and CD44mRNA in 31 cases of colorectal cancer with venous invasion.RESULTS: Positive expression rates of PCNA and CD44mRNA in colorectal cancer were higher than those without liver metastasis (P＜0.05 and P＜0.01). In case of colorectal cancer with liver metastasis, strongly positive rates of PCNA and CD44mRNA were 94.1% and 70.6 %,respectively, significantly higher than those without liver metastasis. There was a positive relationship between the expressions of PCNA and CD44mRNA (r=0.67, P＜0.05).CONCLUSION: Detection of PCNA and CD44mRNA expression in colorectal cancer may be useful for evaluating liver metastasis of cancer cells.