Expression and significance of CK7 and CK19 in colon cancer

AIM: To detect the cytokeratin (CK) genes expression in the colon cancer, and investigate the expression variability in different pathological types and clinical stages. METHODS: The CK gene expression pattern in normal colon, colon cancer tissues and colon cancer cell lines were analyzed by using Immunohistochemical, Immunocytochemical and Western blot ways. RESULTS: CK7 and CK19 didn't express in normal colon tissues. CK7 was low or not expressed in the colon cancer, and CK19 was highly expressed in the colon cancer. There were significant deviation (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: CK7 and CK19 may be correlated with the carcinogenesis of colon cancer, and CK7-)/CK19+ may be one of the expression characteristics in colon cancer.