Abstract:Objective To explore the significance of the expression of UHRF1 and UHRF2 proteins in colorectal cancer tissues,and to analyze their value in judging the prognosis of colorectal cancer patients. Methods Tissue chip combined with immunohistochemical staining were used to detect the expression of UHRF1 and UHRF2 proteins in 294 colorectal cancer tissues and 254 matched paracancerous normal tissues.The correlation between UHRF1 and UHRF2 proteins and the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer,as well as their relationship with the clinicopathological indexes and prognosis of colorectal cancer patients were analyzed. Results The results of immunohistochemistry showed that the positive expression of UHRF1 and UHRF2 were localized in the nucleus.The positive expression rate of UHRF1 and UHRF2 in colorectal cancer was significantly higher than those in normal tissues (49.6% vs 3.5%,P=0.000;60.2% vs 3.1%, P=0.000), and there was a positive correlation between them (r=0.358,P=0.008). The expression of the two proteins was closely correlated to the degree of tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis and clinical stage (P<0.05, P<0.01), but not to the patient's age, sex, tumor location, tumor type and tumor size (all P>0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the postoperative survival rate of patients with positive expression of UHRF1 and UHRF2 was lower than those of patients with negative expression, and patients with both positive expressions had lower postoperative survival rates. Cox regression analysis showed that UHRF1 and UHRF2 were independent factors influencing the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer (RR=3.436,P=0.016;RR=3.499,P=0.033). Conclusion UHRF1 and UHRF2 are closely related to the occurrence and development of colorectal cancer,and their expressions can be used as an important basis for judging the prognosis of patients.