Adem Deligonul - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Adem Deligonul

Research paper thumbnail of Investigation of FGFR4 (Gly388Arg) gene polymorphism in primary lung cancer patients

International Journal of Human Genetics

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of Smoking Habits Are an Independent Prognostic Factor in Patients with Lung Cancer

The Clinical Respiratory Journal, 2015

The role of tobacco in the pathogenesis of lung cancer (LC) has been clearly established. Based o... more The role of tobacco in the pathogenesis of lung cancer (LC) has been clearly established. Based on the epidemiological evidence that smoking may influence LC progression, we investigated the idea that smoking behavior could be associated with overall survival (OS) in this group of patients. A total of 351 patients with LC (311 men and 40 women) were reviewed. Smoking status was assessed as tobacco users or non-users. To calculate pack-years of smoking, the average of number of cigarettes smoked per day was divided by 20 to give packs per day, and then multiplied by the total number of years of smoking. OS was the main outcome measure. The mean follow-up was 3.3 ± 1.2 years. Kaplan-Meier plots of OS by use of tobacco revealed significant differences by smoking status (log-rank = 5.44, P < 0.01), indicating a reduced survival rate in tobacco users. The effect on OS of the amount of cigarette smoking was also evident when we subdivided the former and current smokers into ≤7 (mean value) pack-years and >7 pack-years groups (log-rank = 4.27, P < 0.05). After adjusting for all potential confounders, tobacco smoking retained its independent prognostic significance for OS (hazard ratio = 1.53, 95% confidence interval = 1.19-2.17, P = 0.02). Our data indicate that cigarette smoking is significantly associated with a poor prognosis among patients diagnosed with LC in a dose-dependent manner.

Research paper thumbnail of Association and Prognostic Significance of the Functional −1562C/T Polymorphism in the Promoter Region of MMP-9 in Turkish Patients with Gastric Cancer

Pathology & Oncology Research, 2015

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a group of zinc-dependent peptidases that participate in mat... more Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a group of zinc-dependent peptidases that participate in matrix turnover in solid malignancies. The aim of this study was twofold. First, we sought to investigate under a case-control design the association between the functional -1562C/T polymorphism in the promoter region of MMP-9 and gastric cancer (GC) in a Turkish sample. Second, we examined its prognostic significance in GC patients. A total of 144 subjects were enrolled in the case-control study (79 GC cases and 65 controls). Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) served as the main outcome measures in the longitudinal study. The MMP-9 -1562C/T polymorphism was genotyped using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. The odds ratio (OR) of GC for the CC genotype relative to the CT+TT genotypes was not significant (OR = 0.89, 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 0.44-1.82, P = 0.75). These results did not change after allowance for age and sex in multivariable regression analysis (OR = 0.81, 95 % CI = 0.40-1.94, P = 0.84). When the MMP-9 -1562C/T polymorphism was analyzed among GC patients in relation to OS and PFS, we found no significant differences between subjects with the CC and CT+TT genotypes. In conclusion, the results of our study did not point toward a major role of the MMP-9 -1562C/T polymorphism in the pathogenesis and clinical course of GC in Turkish subjects.

Research paper thumbnail of Malignant melanoma of the stomach in an elderly patient

The Turkish Journal of Gastroenterology, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Neoadjuvant chemotherapy-induced changes in immunohistochemical expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER2, and Ki-67 in patients with breast cancer

Journal of B.U.ON. : official journal of the Balkan Union of Oncology

The impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) on immunohistochemical markers in breast cancer spe... more The impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) on immunohistochemical markers in breast cancer specimens remains controversial. We designed the current study to investigate the potential changes in estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), HER2, and Ki-67 expression before and after NACT in a cohort of Turkish patients with breast cancer. This research was designed as a prospective, observational study of 100 consecutive patients with breast cancer (mean age 47.8±11.4 years) who were scheduled to undergo anthracycline- and/or taxane-containing NACT before attempting cytoreductive surgery at the Department of Oncology of the Uludag University Medical Center, Bursa, Turkey. Immunohistochemistry was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens. Changes in immunohistochemical markers before and after NACT were only significant for HER-2 and Ki- 67. More specifically, the number of HER-2-positive specimens decreased from 21 before NACT to 8 after NACT (p<0.001). S...

Research paper thumbnail of The SOCS-1 -1478CA/del polymorphism is not associated with colorectal cancer or age at onset in Turkish subjects

Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP, 2013

Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-1 acts as a key regulator of many cytokine signaling path... more Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-1 acts as a key regulator of many cytokine signaling pathways and its abnormal expression has been identified in several human malignancies, suggesting potential roles in carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate any association between the functional SOCS- 1 -1478CA>del polymorphism and colorectal cancer (CC) as well as age at onset in a Turkish clinical sample. A total of 122 subjects were enrolled in this case-control study (70 CC cases and 52 controls). The SOCS-1 -1478CA>del polymorphism was genotyped using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. The odds ratio of the del allele for CC relative to the CA allele was not significantly different between the groups (OR=0.71, 95% CI=0.41-1.22, p=0.27). This result did not change after adjustment for age and sex on multivariable regression analysis (OR=0.84, 95% CI=0.59-1.34, p=0.53). When the SOCS-1 -1478CA>del polymorphis...

Research paper thumbnail of Prognostic significance of human epidermal receptor (HER)- 3 immunohistochemical expression in patients with metastatic breast cancer

Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP, 2013

Previous reports have shown that human epidermal receptor (HER)-3 overexpression may be associate... more Previous reports have shown that human epidermal receptor (HER)-3 overexpression may be associated with poor prognosis in patients with breast cancer, but results have been conflicting. In this study, we sought to investigate the prognostic significance of HER-3 immunohistochemical expression in patients with metastatic breast cancer. We retrospectively analyzed HER-3 immunohistochemical expression profiles in 45 paraffin-embedded specimens from patients who had been treated between 1996 and 2006 in the Department of Oncology of the Uludag University School of Medicine, Bursa, Turkey. Membranous or cytoplasmic dominant expression patterns of HER-3 were analyzed using the Rajkumar score and a cytoplasmic 4-point scoring system, respectively. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) served as the main outcome measures. The median PFS in the study participants was 9 months (interquartile range: 4.5-13 months), whereas the median OS was 20 months (interquartile range: 7...

Research paper thumbnail of Lack of prognostic significance of adiponectin immunohistochemical expression in patients with triple-negative breast cancer

Współczesna Onkologia, 2014

Introduction: Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) -which lack the expression of estrogen recep... more Introduction: Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) -which lack the expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) -have no established markers that can be used for prognostic stratification. As adiponectin has been previously implicated in a more aggressive phenotype of primary breast cancer, we explored the relation between adiponectin immunohistochemical expression and prognosis in TNBCs. Material and methods: Immunohistochemical staining for adiponectin was performed in 38 TNBC patients. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) served as the main outcome measures. Results: Of the 38 TNBC patients, 18 (47%) had negative and 20 (53%) positive adiponectin immunohistochemical expression. We did not find any significant association between adiponectin immunohistochemical expression and the baseline characteristics. In addition, there were no associations between adiponectin immunohistochemical expression and prognosis. Conclusions: Although our results suggest that adiponectin immunohistochemical expression is not of prognostic significance in TNBCs, further studies are warranted to determine the role of this adipokine in breast cancer biology.

Research paper thumbnail of XRCC1 Gene Polymorphisms and Risk of Lung Cancer in Turkish Patients

Int J Hum …, 2012

Polymorphisms in the X-ray repair cross complementing 1 (XRCC1) gene have been found to be associ... more Polymorphisms in the X-ray repair cross complementing 1 (XRCC1) gene have been found to be associated with susceptibility to various types of cancers. We investigated the association between the XRCC1 gene Arg399Gln polymorphism and the susceptibility to lung cancer in Turkish patients. To determine the association of this polymorphism with the risk of lung cancer in Turkish patients, a hospital-based case-control study was designed, involving 67 patients with lung cancer and 60 control subjects with no cancer history who were matched for age and gender. XRCC1 genotypes (Arg/Arg, Arg/Gln, and Gln/Gln) were determined using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis on genomic DNA. No statistically significant relationship was determined between the lung cancer and control groups (p>0.05). Among the patients, 61% were Arg/Arg, 28% were Arg/Gln, and 11% were Gln/Gln. Among the controls, 50% were Arg/Arg, 38% were Arg/Gln, and 12% were Gln/Gln. There was no difference in the distribution of XRCC1 genotypes or the frequencies of the Arg (75% versus 69%) and Gln (25% versus 31%) alleles between the lung cancer patients and controls. Our results suggest that the XRCC1 gene Arg399Gln polymorphism is not associated with an increased risk for the development of lung cancer in Turkish patients.

Research paper thumbnail of The immunohistochemical expression of c-Met is an independent predictor of survival in patients with glioblastoma multiforme

Clinical and Translational Oncology, 2014

Because the outcome of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains dismal, there is an urgent need for ... more Because the outcome of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains dismal, there is an urgent need for a better molecular characterization of this malignancy. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the prognostic impact of the expression of c-mesenchymal-epithelial transition (c-Met) a receptor tyrosine kinase implicated in expression growth, survival, motility/migration, and invasion in GMB patients managed according to the established diagnostic and therapeutic protocols. Between May 2003 and March 2011, a total of 69 patients (33 males and 36 females; mean age: 52.2 ± 12.9 years, age range: 23-81 years) referred to our Department for the surgical removal of GBM were evaluated immunohistochemically for c-Met expression. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) served as the main outcome measures. Compared with c-Met- subjects (n = 38), c-Met+ subjects (n = 31) had both a significantly lower OS (15.3 ± 2.3 vs. 22.6 ± 2.5 months, respectively, p &lt; 0.01) and PFS (12.3 ± 2.1 vs. 19.1 ± 2.6 months, respectively, p &lt; 0.05). After allowance for potential confounders, multivariate Cox regression analysis identified c-Met+ as an independent predictor of both OS (hazard ratio = 1.7; 95 % confidence interval = 1.2-1.9, p &lt; 0.01) and PFS (hazard ratio = 1.6; 95 % confidence interval = 1.1-2.3, p &lt; 0.05). Our findings suggest that c-Met immunohistochemical expression is an independent predictor of outcomes in patients with GBM treated by standard of care.

Research paper thumbnail of Molecular markers for patients with thymic malignancies: not feasible at present?

Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP, 2014

Thymomas and thymic carcinomas are rare malignancies and devising clinically effective molecular ... more Thymomas and thymic carcinomas are rare malignancies and devising clinically effective molecular targeted therapies is a major clinical challenge. The aim of the study was to analyze BLC2 and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) expression and KRAS and EGFR mutational status and to correlate them with the clinical characteristics of patients with thymomas and thymic carcinomas. A total of 62 patients (mean age: 50.4 ± 13.2 years) with thymomas and thymic carcinomas were enrolled. The expression of BLC2 and VEGFR in tumor cells and normal tissues was evaluated by RT-PCR. The mutational status of the KRAS and EGFR genes was investigated by PCR with sequence specific primers. The BLC2 and VEGFR expression levels did not differ significantly between tumor and normal tissues. Moreover, there were no clearly pathogenic mutations in KRAS or EGFR genes in any tumor. None of the molecular markers were significantly related to clinical outcomes. Changes in levels of expression ...

Research paper thumbnail of Investigation of FGFR4 (Gly388Arg) gene polymorphism in primary lung cancer patients

International Journal of Human Genetics

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of Smoking Habits Are an Independent Prognostic Factor in Patients with Lung Cancer

The Clinical Respiratory Journal, 2015

The role of tobacco in the pathogenesis of lung cancer (LC) has been clearly established. Based o... more The role of tobacco in the pathogenesis of lung cancer (LC) has been clearly established. Based on the epidemiological evidence that smoking may influence LC progression, we investigated the idea that smoking behavior could be associated with overall survival (OS) in this group of patients. A total of 351 patients with LC (311 men and 40 women) were reviewed. Smoking status was assessed as tobacco users or non-users. To calculate pack-years of smoking, the average of number of cigarettes smoked per day was divided by 20 to give packs per day, and then multiplied by the total number of years of smoking. OS was the main outcome measure. The mean follow-up was 3.3 ± 1.2 years. Kaplan-Meier plots of OS by use of tobacco revealed significant differences by smoking status (log-rank = 5.44, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.01), indicating a reduced survival rate in tobacco users. The effect on OS of the amount of cigarette smoking was also evident when we subdivided the former and current smokers into ≤7 (mean value) pack-years and &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;7 pack-years groups (log-rank = 4.27, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.05). After adjusting for all potential confounders, tobacco smoking retained its independent prognostic significance for OS (hazard ratio = 1.53, 95% confidence interval = 1.19-2.17, P = 0.02). Our data indicate that cigarette smoking is significantly associated with a poor prognosis among patients diagnosed with LC in a dose-dependent manner.

Research paper thumbnail of Association and Prognostic Significance of the Functional −1562C/T Polymorphism in the Promoter Region of MMP-9 in Turkish Patients with Gastric Cancer

Pathology & Oncology Research, 2015

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a group of zinc-dependent peptidases that participate in mat... more Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a group of zinc-dependent peptidases that participate in matrix turnover in solid malignancies. The aim of this study was twofold. First, we sought to investigate under a case-control design the association between the functional -1562C/T polymorphism in the promoter region of MMP-9 and gastric cancer (GC) in a Turkish sample. Second, we examined its prognostic significance in GC patients. A total of 144 subjects were enrolled in the case-control study (79 GC cases and 65 controls). Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) served as the main outcome measures in the longitudinal study. The MMP-9 -1562C/T polymorphism was genotyped using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. The odds ratio (OR) of GC for the CC genotype relative to the CT+TT genotypes was not significant (OR = 0.89, 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 0.44-1.82, P = 0.75). These results did not change after allowance for age and sex in multivariable regression analysis (OR = 0.81, 95 % CI = 0.40-1.94, P = 0.84). When the MMP-9 -1562C/T polymorphism was analyzed among GC patients in relation to OS and PFS, we found no significant differences between subjects with the CC and CT+TT genotypes. In conclusion, the results of our study did not point toward a major role of the MMP-9 -1562C/T polymorphism in the pathogenesis and clinical course of GC in Turkish subjects.

Research paper thumbnail of Malignant melanoma of the stomach in an elderly patient

The Turkish Journal of Gastroenterology, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Neoadjuvant chemotherapy-induced changes in immunohistochemical expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER2, and Ki-67 in patients with breast cancer

Journal of B.U.ON. : official journal of the Balkan Union of Oncology

The impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) on immunohistochemical markers in breast cancer spe... more The impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) on immunohistochemical markers in breast cancer specimens remains controversial. We designed the current study to investigate the potential changes in estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), HER2, and Ki-67 expression before and after NACT in a cohort of Turkish patients with breast cancer. This research was designed as a prospective, observational study of 100 consecutive patients with breast cancer (mean age 47.8±11.4 years) who were scheduled to undergo anthracycline- and/or taxane-containing NACT before attempting cytoreductive surgery at the Department of Oncology of the Uludag University Medical Center, Bursa, Turkey. Immunohistochemistry was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens. Changes in immunohistochemical markers before and after NACT were only significant for HER-2 and Ki- 67. More specifically, the number of HER-2-positive specimens decreased from 21 before NACT to 8 after NACT (p<0.001). S...

Research paper thumbnail of The SOCS-1 -1478CA/del polymorphism is not associated with colorectal cancer or age at onset in Turkish subjects

Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP, 2013

Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-1 acts as a key regulator of many cytokine signaling path... more Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-1 acts as a key regulator of many cytokine signaling pathways and its abnormal expression has been identified in several human malignancies, suggesting potential roles in carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate any association between the functional SOCS- 1 -1478CA>del polymorphism and colorectal cancer (CC) as well as age at onset in a Turkish clinical sample. A total of 122 subjects were enrolled in this case-control study (70 CC cases and 52 controls). The SOCS-1 -1478CA>del polymorphism was genotyped using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. The odds ratio of the del allele for CC relative to the CA allele was not significantly different between the groups (OR=0.71, 95% CI=0.41-1.22, p=0.27). This result did not change after adjustment for age and sex on multivariable regression analysis (OR=0.84, 95% CI=0.59-1.34, p=0.53). When the SOCS-1 -1478CA>del polymorphis...

Research paper thumbnail of Prognostic significance of human epidermal receptor (HER)- 3 immunohistochemical expression in patients with metastatic breast cancer

Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP, 2013

Previous reports have shown that human epidermal receptor (HER)-3 overexpression may be associate... more Previous reports have shown that human epidermal receptor (HER)-3 overexpression may be associated with poor prognosis in patients with breast cancer, but results have been conflicting. In this study, we sought to investigate the prognostic significance of HER-3 immunohistochemical expression in patients with metastatic breast cancer. We retrospectively analyzed HER-3 immunohistochemical expression profiles in 45 paraffin-embedded specimens from patients who had been treated between 1996 and 2006 in the Department of Oncology of the Uludag University School of Medicine, Bursa, Turkey. Membranous or cytoplasmic dominant expression patterns of HER-3 were analyzed using the Rajkumar score and a cytoplasmic 4-point scoring system, respectively. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) served as the main outcome measures. The median PFS in the study participants was 9 months (interquartile range: 4.5-13 months), whereas the median OS was 20 months (interquartile range: 7...

Research paper thumbnail of Lack of prognostic significance of adiponectin immunohistochemical expression in patients with triple-negative breast cancer

Współczesna Onkologia, 2014

Introduction: Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) -which lack the expression of estrogen recep... more Introduction: Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs) -which lack the expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) -have no established markers that can be used for prognostic stratification. As adiponectin has been previously implicated in a more aggressive phenotype of primary breast cancer, we explored the relation between adiponectin immunohistochemical expression and prognosis in TNBCs. Material and methods: Immunohistochemical staining for adiponectin was performed in 38 TNBC patients. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) served as the main outcome measures. Results: Of the 38 TNBC patients, 18 (47%) had negative and 20 (53%) positive adiponectin immunohistochemical expression. We did not find any significant association between adiponectin immunohistochemical expression and the baseline characteristics. In addition, there were no associations between adiponectin immunohistochemical expression and prognosis. Conclusions: Although our results suggest that adiponectin immunohistochemical expression is not of prognostic significance in TNBCs, further studies are warranted to determine the role of this adipokine in breast cancer biology.

Research paper thumbnail of XRCC1 Gene Polymorphisms and Risk of Lung Cancer in Turkish Patients

Int J Hum …, 2012

Polymorphisms in the X-ray repair cross complementing 1 (XRCC1) gene have been found to be associ... more Polymorphisms in the X-ray repair cross complementing 1 (XRCC1) gene have been found to be associated with susceptibility to various types of cancers. We investigated the association between the XRCC1 gene Arg399Gln polymorphism and the susceptibility to lung cancer in Turkish patients. To determine the association of this polymorphism with the risk of lung cancer in Turkish patients, a hospital-based case-control study was designed, involving 67 patients with lung cancer and 60 control subjects with no cancer history who were matched for age and gender. XRCC1 genotypes (Arg/Arg, Arg/Gln, and Gln/Gln) were determined using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis on genomic DNA. No statistically significant relationship was determined between the lung cancer and control groups (p>0.05). Among the patients, 61% were Arg/Arg, 28% were Arg/Gln, and 11% were Gln/Gln. Among the controls, 50% were Arg/Arg, 38% were Arg/Gln, and 12% were Gln/Gln. There was no difference in the distribution of XRCC1 genotypes or the frequencies of the Arg (75% versus 69%) and Gln (25% versus 31%) alleles between the lung cancer patients and controls. Our results suggest that the XRCC1 gene Arg399Gln polymorphism is not associated with an increased risk for the development of lung cancer in Turkish patients.

Research paper thumbnail of The immunohistochemical expression of c-Met is an independent predictor of survival in patients with glioblastoma multiforme

Clinical and Translational Oncology, 2014

Because the outcome of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains dismal, there is an urgent need for ... more Because the outcome of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) remains dismal, there is an urgent need for a better molecular characterization of this malignancy. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the prognostic impact of the expression of c-mesenchymal-epithelial transition (c-Met) a receptor tyrosine kinase implicated in expression growth, survival, motility/migration, and invasion in GMB patients managed according to the established diagnostic and therapeutic protocols. Between May 2003 and March 2011, a total of 69 patients (33 males and 36 females; mean age: 52.2 ± 12.9 years, age range: 23-81 years) referred to our Department for the surgical removal of GBM were evaluated immunohistochemically for c-Met expression. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) served as the main outcome measures. Compared with c-Met- subjects (n = 38), c-Met+ subjects (n = 31) had both a significantly lower OS (15.3 ± 2.3 vs. 22.6 ± 2.5 months, respectively, p &lt; 0.01) and PFS (12.3 ± 2.1 vs. 19.1 ± 2.6 months, respectively, p &lt; 0.05). After allowance for potential confounders, multivariate Cox regression analysis identified c-Met+ as an independent predictor of both OS (hazard ratio = 1.7; 95 % confidence interval = 1.2-1.9, p &lt; 0.01) and PFS (hazard ratio = 1.6; 95 % confidence interval = 1.1-2.3, p &lt; 0.05). Our findings suggest that c-Met immunohistochemical expression is an independent predictor of outcomes in patients with GBM treated by standard of care.

Research paper thumbnail of Molecular markers for patients with thymic malignancies: not feasible at present?

Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP, 2014

Thymomas and thymic carcinomas are rare malignancies and devising clinically effective molecular ... more Thymomas and thymic carcinomas are rare malignancies and devising clinically effective molecular targeted therapies is a major clinical challenge. The aim of the study was to analyze BLC2 and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) expression and KRAS and EGFR mutational status and to correlate them with the clinical characteristics of patients with thymomas and thymic carcinomas. A total of 62 patients (mean age: 50.4 ± 13.2 years) with thymomas and thymic carcinomas were enrolled. The expression of BLC2 and VEGFR in tumor cells and normal tissues was evaluated by RT-PCR. The mutational status of the KRAS and EGFR genes was investigated by PCR with sequence specific primers. The BLC2 and VEGFR expression levels did not differ significantly between tumor and normal tissues. Moreover, there were no clearly pathogenic mutations in KRAS or EGFR genes in any tumor. None of the molecular markers were significantly related to clinical outcomes. Changes in levels of expression ...