OBJECTIVES:
* Identify predictive factors of efficacy and safety of adjuvant chemotherapy comprising fluorouracil-based regimens in patients with stage III colon cancer.
* Investigate possibility of "personalized treatment" with adjuvant chemotherapy based on the predictive factors identified.
OUTLINE: Patients' tumor tissue samples are collected for protein expression levels of thymidine phosphorylase (TP), dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), VEGF, EGFR, mRNA-expression levels of TP, DPD, thymidylate synthase (TS), and orotate phosphoribosyl transferase (OPRT) by ELISA, Human Duo Set, and RT-PCR assays.
Patients' enzyme expression levels are compared with their clinical data.
