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Published on: September 25, 2011
c-MYC and h-TERT co-expression in colon adenocarcinoma: a tissue microarray digitized image analysis
G Georgakopoulos1, E Tsiambas, P Korkolopoulos
1Department of Internal Medicine, General Hospital of Thiva, Thiva, Greece.
Summary
The study found that co-overexpression of c-MYC and human telomerase reverse transcriptase (h-TERT) is common in colon adenocarcinoma. This deregulation is linked to tumor progression and suggests a new therapeutic target.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- The c-MYC oncogene is frequently amplified in colon adenocarcinoma.
- c-MYC activates telomerase by inducing human telomerase reverse transcriptase (h-TERT) expression.
- Telomerase activation is critical for cancer cell immortality and tumorigenesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the significance of co-expression of c-MYC and h-TERT in colon adenocarcinoma.
- To determine the frequency and implications of simultaneous c-MYC and h-TERT deregulation.
Main Methods:
- Sixty primary colon adenocarcinomas were analyzed using tissue microarrays.
- Immunohistochemistry was employed to assess c-MYC and h-TERT expression levels.
- Quantitative digitized macro analysis was performed to evaluate gene expression.
Main Results:
- c-MYC and h-TERT overexpression occurred in 45% and 46.6% of cases, respectively.
- Co-overexpression of c-MYC and h-TERT was observed in 28.3% of tumors (p=0.001).
- c-MYC overexpression showed a significant association with the grade of differentiation in colon neoplasms (p=0.0217).
Conclusions:
- Simultaneous c-MYC and h-TERT deregulation is a frequent event in colon adenocarcinoma.
- c-MYC overexpression correlates with tumor dedifferentiation and progressive disease.
- Targeting both c-MYC and h-TERT presents a novel therapeutic strategy for colon adenocarcinoma.
