Investigating Differential Expression of mTOR1/UCA1 in Tumor Samples of Colorectal Cancer Compared with Tumor Marginal Samples

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second and third most common cancer in men and women respectively, and the fourth cause of cancer death of individuals. Mutations in specific genes can lead to colorectal cancer. UCA1 is one of the oncogenic genes that have been shown to stimulate cell proliferation. mTOR1 is another gene that leads to the growth of cancer cells through anabolic processes and autophagy inhibition. Objectives: In this study, we evaluate the expression of these two genes in different phases of CRC, that helps the early detection of colorectal cancer which can increase the survival rate. Methods: First, we collected 25 colorectal cancer tumor tissues and 25 adjacent normal tissues as a control group. Then, RNA was extracted from tissue samples and cDNA synthesized. The UCA1 and mTOR1 expression was evaluated in CRC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues by Real Time PCR. Results: Our results showed that the UCA1 and mTOR1 expression in the tumor tissues was significantly higher than in the adjacent normal tissues (P < 0.05). There was also a significant difference in Lynph inv and Vescu inv with mTOR1 expression (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Our results showed that UCA1/mTOR1 may be important genes involved in colorectal cancer. mTOR1 was also identified as one of the possible genes in metastasis of colorectal cancer. Thus, UCA1 and mTOR1 can probably be considered as biomarkers in CRC therapy and diagnosis.