ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the expression of proline-rich tyrosine kinase-2 (Pyk2) in human primary colorectal carcinoma (CRC) and it's prognostic significance.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The expression of Pyk2 was retrospectively examined with immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 108 tissues of primary CRC. The correlation of Pyk2 expression to prognosis and relevant clinical factors were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The rate of Pyk2 low-expression in CRC was 56.5% (61/108). The expression of Pyk2 correlated significantly to the histological grade (P < 0.05) and the TNM stage (P < 0.05), while no correlation between Pyk2 expression and age, tumor size (P > 0.05). Patients with Pyk2 over-expression had significantly higher 5-year survival rate (66.0%) than those with Pyk2 low-expression (31.4%). Pyk2 expression, together with carcinoma histologic grade and TNM stage were prognostic factors to CRC on the multivariate analysis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Pyk2 expression can be a prognostic factor to the CRC patients together with other predictors.</p>