Expression of DMBT1 in Colorectal Cancer Patients

Although colorectal cancer is a preventable and curable disease if early stage tumors are removed, it is still the fourth cause of cancer worldwide and the second leading cause of death in many industrialized countries. The 5-year survival is about 55% often due to a late detection. Then, the identification of sensitive and specific molecular markers is therefore a major challenge for early diagnosis and prognosis of this disease. Preliminary work have reported variations in the expression of DMBT1 (deleted in malignant brain tumor 1), a glycoprotein co-secreted with mucins in the light of the glands, during several stages of colon carcinogenesis. The goal of this study is to study by mass spectrometry (MS), alterations in the repertoire of glycosylation of mucins from colorectal tumors of various stages, grades, and recurrence status.