BTG 3 gene alterations in colorectal carcinoma

Aims: To investigate whether the BTG3 gene is involved in colorectal carcinogenesis. Methods and results: we have examined the genetic alterations, including somatic mutations and promoter hypermethylation of the BTG3 gene in 78 sporadic colorectal carcinomas. Results revealed that no mutation was detected in the coding region of the BTG3 gene and promoter hypermethylation was detected in 5 colorectal carcinoma samples. The expression of BTG3 proteins was also examined via immunohistochemistry in 78 colorectal carcinomas. There was loss or reduced expression of BTG3 in the 43 (55.1%) of the 78 colorectal carcinomas. Statistically, altered expression of BTG3 was not associated with clinicopathological parameters, including tumor differentiation, location, and lymph node metastasis (P>0.05). Conclusion: Our results suggest that genetic, epigenetic, and protein expression pattern alterations of the BTG3 gene might play a minor role in the development or progression of colorectal carcinomas.