In 4 cases the mutation was missed through sequencing but detected by SNaPshot analysis. Figure 4 KRAS gene mutation frequency before (A) and after (B) treatment of 25 patients with respect to the involved codon (codon 12 or codon 13) and base position, (as also shown in Table 5) The degree of tumor regression (Chi2-test, P=0.577), age (Chi2-test, P=0.249), sex (Chi2-test, P=0.566) and mutation Selleck CP-673451 status were not differently associated. The presence of KRAS mutations was correlated neither with tumor response, nodal or metastatic stage. Microsatellite instability analysis As shown in Figure 5, patients whose tumor DNA showed allelic pattern that

was not present in the corresponding normal DNA were Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical defined as MSI positive. Figure 5 Microsatellite panel of tumor DNA and matching normal DNA. *MSS = microsatellite stability, MSI= microsatellite instability Among 25 patients analyzed, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical 2 (8%) exhibited a MSI+ phenotype, (Table 8), with early rectal cancer onset, familial recurrence of colorectal carcinomas and non-response to neoadjuvant 5-FU-therapy. Table 8 Familial history and microsatellite mutation status Discussion KRAS and BRAF mutation status These data show that the frequency of the KRAS Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical oncogene mutation in a series of 25 CRC patients was 36% pretherapeutically

and 44% posttherapeutically. All samples were diagnosed as V600E BRAF mutation negative. The KRAS mutation status was correlated neither with tumor response, sex, age or other histopathological features. According Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical to the literature, oncogenic mutations affecting KRAS and BRAF occur in about 25-50% and approximately 4-12% of colorectal cancers, respectively (33). Gaedcke and colleagues Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical detected no V600E BRAF mutations and 48% KRAS mutations in rectal cancer patients (n=94) consistent with our data

(19). In two cases the mutation status in tumor DNA changed after therapy. This could be due to the fact that malignant tumors are genetically heterogeneous and different areas of the colonic tumor are taken from the patient or that the radiochemotherapy induces a mutation which is also common and relevant for further therapy decisions. In individual cases the KRAS mutation (most are transition ones) was missed by sequencing but detected using MycoClean Mycoplasma Removal Kit the SNaPshot analysis, thereby indicating the need to use highly sensitive molecular techniques. SNaPshot has a higher analytical sensitivity of approximately 5-10% as compared to the sequencing method which shows an allele detection sensitivity of 10-15% (34). Thus, the use of two independent analytical methods to ensure routinely efficient mutation detection was proven valuable. The identification of mutationally activated KRAS and BRAF alleles in several tumor models supports the importance of this signaling pathway in cancer progression (35,36).