UGT1A7 and UGT1A8 gene expressions in colorectal cancer patients

Incidence of colorectal cancer is rapidly increasing in developed countries. The latest statistical results indicates that the incidence of colorectal cancer is about %6.2 in Turkey, which is higher for males (%59) than for females (%41), giving a male/female ratio of 1.44. The risk of developing colorectal cancer increases ten-fold in every 10 years. Because of the unique heterogeneity, molecular biology offers great opportunity to prevention and early detection of the colorectal cancer. Recent studies indicate that expression of the UGT1A gene products has a potential role in the onset and progression of cancers. In this study, we aimed to investigate correlation between the expressions of UGT1A7 & UGT1A8 genes and colorectal cancer for early-stage cancer diagnose. This prospective study was performed on the patients with colorectal cancer with the approval of ethical committee. We analyzed the mRNA and cDNA levels on normal and tumor tissue specimens obtained from surgery. We used RT-PCR to test for levels of UGT1A7 & UGT1A8 gene expression. Fold changes of these genes have been calculated using 2–ΔCt method together with GAPDH mRNA levels as an internal normalization control. Here, we showed no significant change in the gene expressions of UGT1A7 & UGT1A8 between cancerous and normal tissues of the colorectal cancer patients. Although there was an increase in the expression of UGT1A7 & UGT1A8 genes in the cancerous tissue compared with normal tissue of the patients, it did not reach the significant level (p>0,05). Our results demonstrated that there is no clear link between colorectal cancer risk and UGT1A gene family.