Expression characteristics of , , and in families with a history of oesophageal cancer in a region with a high incidence of oesophageal cancer.

The aim of the present study was to determine the changes to the expression levels of fragile histidine triad (), breast cancer type 2 susceptibility protein (), MutL homolog 1 () and tumour protein 53 () exhibited by families with a history of oesophageal cancer in a region that has a high incidence of oesophageal cancer, and to determine the association of these changes with the cancer history of the families. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the protein expression of FHIT, p53, BRCA2, and MLH1 in the excised specimens of cancer tissues from 74 oesophageal cancer patients (positive family history of oesophageal cancer [OCFH +], n=33; negative family history of oesophageal cancer [OCFH -], n=41) from a region with a high incidence of oesophageal cancer. The positive expression rates of (61%; 45/74), 50%; 37/74) and (27%; 9/33 in the oesophageal cancer tissues were significantly lower than those in the healthy tissues adjacent to the cancer (97% [29/30], 87% [26/30] and 73% [25/41], respectively).