Abstract
AIM: To evaluate the expression of PI3K p85α and p53 proteins in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues, investigate their roles in carcinogenesis and progression, and analyze their associations with clinicopathological characteristics and patient prognosis. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was used to assess the expression of PI3K p85α and p53 proteins in CRC tissues and matched paracancerous mucosa from 267 patients. The associations between protein expression and clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed. Follow-up data were evaluated using univariate Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: The positive rate of PI3K p85α was significantly higher in CRC tissues than in paracancerous mucosa (80.2% vs 17.6%, P<0.001) and was associated with clinical stage (χ(2)=5.261, P=0.022). p53 expression profiles were markedly different between CRC and normal tissues, with a significantly higher rate of p53 overexpression in CRC (62.9% vs 0%, P<0.001). Importantly, both negative and high p53 expression were associated with a higher incidence of lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). In survival analysis, clinical stage, tumor differentiation, and PI3K p85α expression were identified as independent prognostic factors for CRC patients (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: PI3K p85α and p53 are implicated in CRC development and progression. The detection of these proteins offers clinical value for early diagnosis and predicting tumor behavior, while PI3K p85α expression may serve as a valuable biomarker for prognostic assessment in CRC.