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Noncorrelation of the Expression of the c-myc Oncogene in Colorectal Carcinoma with Recurrence of Disease or Patient Survival¹

The Institute for Cancer Research [M. D. E., S. M. A.], Biostatistics and Computation Laboratory [S. L.], Department of Surgery [R. D. K.], and Department of Medicine [R. L. C.], Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19111

Our previous work has shown that 26 of 38 cases (68.4%) of primary adenocarcinoma of the colon exhibited significantly elevated levels of c-myc RNA compared to normal colonic mucosa (M. D. Erisman, P. G. Rothberg, R. E. Diehl, C. C. Morse, J. M. Spandorfer, and S. M. Astrin. Mol. Cell. Biol., 5: 1969–1976, 1985; P. G. Rothberg, J. M. Spandorfer, M. D. Erisman, R. N. Staroscik, H. F. Sears, R. O. Petersen, and S. M. Astrin. Br. J. Cancer, 52: 629–632, 1985). In this study, we have compared those levels of expression to the clinical profiles of the affected individuals in an effort to define useful correlates, especially with regard to recurrence of disease and patient survival. Log-rank comparisons of recurrence curves for the entire patient population, for those patients with low levels of c-myc RNA in resected tumor tissue, and for those patients with significantly elevated levels of RNA show no statistically significant differences. Similarly, no statistically significant difference was observed between the high- and low-myc RNA groups with respect to their survival during the postoperative period of observation (median, 25 months). Consequently, the levels of c-myc gene expression observed in primary tumor tissue did not help to define those individuals at higher or lower risk for recurrence of disease and did not point to the likelihood of increased or decreased survival in individuals undergoing surgery for adenocarcinoma of the colon.

¹ This work was supported by NIH Grant CA-40636 (USPHS) to S. M. A., Core Grant CA-06927 to the Fox Chase Cancer Center, and an appropriation from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed.

Received 8/12/87. Revised 11/20/87. Accepted 11/30/87.

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