ABSTRACT
Objective To screen the key genes of colon cancer and to explore the pathogenesis of colon cancer. Methods The expression data were searched from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and the differentially expressed genes were selected by GEO2R. The differentially expressed genes were analyzed by gene ontology (GO) , KEGG pathway and protein-protein interaction networks. Results A total of 324 differentially expressed genes including 61 upregulated genes and 263 downregulated genes were found in more than three GEO series. An analysis of differentially expressed gene pathways revealed that bile secretion, drug metabolism, cytochrome P450, and chemical carcinogenesis were involved in the pathogenesis of colon cancer. Thus 9 key genes were identified, including BMP2, CXCL1, CXCL12, CXCL2, GCG, IL8, MMP1, PHLPP2 and PYY. Conclusion The key genes could be screened by bioinformatics effectively, which might provide the basis for further experimental study.