• COLORECTAL CANCER • Expression of estrogen receptor b in human colorectal cancer

AIM: To determine the expression of estrogen receptor (ER)b in Chinese colorectal carcinoma (CRC) patients. METHODS: ERb expression in CRC was investigated by immunohistochemical staining of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 40 CRCs, 10 colonic adenomas, and 10 normal colon mucosa biopsies. The percentage of positive cells was recorded, mRNA expression of ERa and ERb in 12 CRC tissues and paired normal colon tissues were detected by RT-PCR. RESULTS: Positive ER immunoreactivity was present in part of normal epithelium of biopsy (2/10), adenomas (3/10), and the sections of CRC tissue, most of them were nuclear positive. In CRCs, nuclear ERb immunoreactivity was detected in over 10 % of the cancer cells in 57.5 % of the cases an