Summary

30 cases of colorectal carcinoma and 20 cases of colorectal polyp including 15 neoplastic(adenomatous) had been evaluated immunohistochemicaly for overexpression of p53, bcl-2, c-myc oncogenes at Doctor Lutfi Kırdar Training and Research Hospital Pathology Department. Relationships between p53, bcl-2, c-myc overexpression and differentiation, stage, lymph node metastasis, vascular invasion, local extension of carcinomas and between polyp type and dysplasia of colorectal polyp cases were evaluated. The ratio of overexpression of p53 was found 77% in adenocarcinoma cases, whereas bcl-2 overexpression was 70%, and c-myc also was 70%. There was no significant statistical correlation between p53, bcl-2, c-myc immunoreactivity and prognostic parameters of carcinomas. In colorectal polyps, p53 overexpression ratio was 35%, bcl-2 overexpression was 45% and c-myc 50%. There was no correlation between polyp types and degrees of dysplasia and p53, bcl-2, c-myc immunoreactivity. In our retrospective study, due to low number of cases and short term follow up, we were not able to comment on the prognostic significance of these markers. However our findings of high immunoreactivity of all three oncogenes with both carcinomas and adenomatous polyps suggested that these biomarkers might be mutated at the early stage of carcinogenesis and play an active role during the transition from adenoma to carcinoma.