RON as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in colorectal cancer

CRC results from progressive accumulation of genetic and epigenetic alterations that leads to uncontrolled growth of cells in the colon and rectum. Cell surface growth factor receptors play a vital role in cell destinations. RON receptor tyrosine kinase, one of these receptors, is activated by binding of its ligand, HGFL. The overexpression of RON has been documented in a variety of human cancers, including breast, colon, liver, pancreas, and bladder cancers.The aim of this study was to investigate misregulation of RON in CRC tissues compared to healthy adjacent tissues. 30 healthy and 30 adenocarcinoma colorectal cancer tissue samples were clustered. Total RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis, and Real time PCR were performed to investigate the RON gene expression level in tumor and control samples. REST, Sigma plot, and SPSS software were used to analyze the data. Data analyses showed that the expression of RON gene is increased in colorectal tumor samples compared to healthy adjacent tissues. Expression differences did not show a significant association with tumor location, histological grade, age, and sex of patients.