β-Catenin and K-Ras Mutations and RASSF1A Promoter Methylation in Taiwanese Colorectal Cancer Patients

Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations of beta-catenin mutations, K-ras mutations, methylations of the RASSF1A promoter, and the survival of Taiwanese colorectal cancer (CRC) subjects who received 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) adjuvant chemotherapy. Results: The complete coding region of the K-ras gene and exon 3 and exon 4 of the beta-catenin gene isolated from tumor tissues and adjacent normal colon tissues from 117 CRC subjects were sequenced, respectively. Methylations in the RASSF1A promoter region were also investigated. Various characteristics of the 117 subjects were recorded and used in the Cox proportional-hazard model analyses. Three missense mutations, one nonsense mutation, and one deletion were identified in the beta-catenin gene. A 2 bp deletion was identified in the K-ras gene. We found that the frequencies of mutations in the beta-catenin and K-ras genes were less pronounced in Taiwanese CRC subjects as compared with other populations. Methylations in the RASSF1A promoter region were detected in 73.5% (n = 86/117) of the subjects, which was higher than in other studies. Methylations in the RASSF1A promoter have no significant effect on hazards for all CRC deaths caused in Taiwanese CRC patients. No interaction between 5-FU adjuvant chemotherapy and methylations of the RASSF1A promoter was observed. Conclusions: The mutation frequencies of beta-catenin and K-ras genes in Taiwanese CRC patients are very low, which may suggest that they are not the dominant factors for CRC occurrence and prognosis in Taiwanese CRC patients. Methylation of RASSF1A promoter is independent of the prognosis for Taiwanese CRC patients. Taiwanese subjects differ from subjects of other populations with regard to beta-catenin, K-ras, and RASSF1A presentations for CRC.