Higher selenoprotein W expression in human colon cancer biopsy specimens compared to adenomas and healthy colon samples

Introduction: In the last few decades a significant correlation between selenium deficiency and the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) has been observed. However, the mechanism for selenium as an anticarcinogenic element is not known. Selenoprotein W (SPW) mRNA expression has previously been reported to show an inverse correlation with the degree of dysplasia and/or cancer in human colonic mucosa samples. Our aim was to assess the expression of selenoprotein W at the protein level by immunohistochemistry using tissue microarrays (TMA). Methods: TMAs from 57 human normal, healthy colon, 36 villous adenomas with…