Significance of TMEM16A expression in colorectal carcinoma

AIM: To investigate the expression of transmembrane protein 16A (TMEM16A) in colorectal carcinoma. METHODS: The expression of TMEM16A was detected by immunohistochemistry in 67 surgical colorectal carcinoma specimens and matched tumor-adjacent colorectal specimens. RESULTS: TMEM16A was expressed in both cytoplasm and cell membrane. Among 67 colorectal carcinoma specimens, TMEM16A expression was negative in 4 cases (5.97%), weakly positive in 11 cases (16.42%), positive in 20 cases (29.85%), and strongly positive in 32 cases (47.76%). Among 67 tumor-adjacent healthy tissue specimens, TMEM16A expression was negative in 27 cases (40.30%), weakly positive in 35 cases (52.24%), positive in 3 cases (4.48%), and strongly positive in 2 cases (2.99%). The positive ("positive" plus "strongly positive") rate of TMEM16A expression was significantly higher in colorectal carcinoma tissue than in tumor adjacent healthy tissue (77.61% vs 7.46%, P < 0.005). CONCLUSION: Aberrant expression of TMEM16A is a frequent feature in colorectal carcinoma. TMEM16A can be used as a new candidate target for diagnosis and treatment of colorectal carcinoma.