The Expression And Significance Of Galectin-3 In Human Colorectal Carcinoma

Background and objectivesColorectal carcinoma is one of the most common malignancies. The incidence of colorectal carcinoma in China is gradually increasing during the past several decades. Metastasis is the major cause of death in patients with colorectal carcinoma, and the influence factors are very important for evaluating prognosis and planing treatments. It is urgent to find out the metastasis associated factors so as to work out new preventive and therapeutic methods.The invasion and metastasis of malignancy is a complicated process including cell adhesion, enhanced invasive power, angiogenesis, and escaping immunoreactions. Recent studies have showed that many kinds of protein are involved in the process of metastasis, regulating or promoting the metastatic ability of the cancer cell. Galectin is a family of animal lectins defined by β-galactoside affinity widely seen in mammalian. To date, 14 mammalian members in galectin family have been sequenced. A wide variety of biological features including tumor metastasis are...