Figures (2)  Tables (5)

    • Figure 1. 

      Box plot for the FOXF1 gene PMR value of stool samples in case and control groups. The boxes show the interquartile range (the interval between the 25th and 75th percentiles). The lines within the boxes indicate the median values.

    • Figure 2. 

      ROC curve for FOXF1 gene promoter methylation in stool samples.

    • Primers and probesSequence (5'–3')
      FOXF1Forward primer5'-GTTAATCGTCGGCGGATTTAGTAG-3'
      Reverse primer5'-AACTAACTACACCTCTACCGTCAT-3'
      Probe5'-6-FAM-ACCACTTCTCCCGAAC
      GAACCGC-TAMRA-3'
      ALU-C4Forward primer5'-GGTTAGGTATAGTGGTTTATATT
      TGTAATTTTAGTA-3'
      Reverse primer5'-ATTAACTAAACTAATCTTAAACT
      CCTAACCTCA-3'
      Probe5'-6-FAM-CCTACCTTAACCTCCC-TAMRA-3'

      Table 1. 

      Primer and probe sequences applied for MethyLight PCR.

    • Demographic featuresPatient group
      (n = 50)      		Control group
      (n = 50)      		p value*
      Age (years)56 ± 12.954 ± 120.166
      Gender
      (female:male)      		3:29:70.686
      * Mann–Whitney U test.

      Table 2. 

      The demographic characteristics of the patient group with CRC and the healthy control.

    • No. of patientsMinimumMaximumPercentiles**p-value*
      25th50th75th
      Stool PMRPatient
      group      		500.0730.010.0613.1< 0.001
      Normal group500.00.030.00.010.02
      * Mann–Whitney U test. ** Explore.

      Table 3. 

      Median PMR value results for FOXF1 gene promoter methylation in the stool samples of patients with CRC and healthy controls.

    • CharacteristicsNo. of
      patients      		Stool PMR (percentiles)**p value*
      25th50th75th
      Age≤ 50 years160.992.6413.370.5
      > 50 years342.053.4813.6
      GenderFemale302.073.910.870.41
      Male201.12.5514.95
      GradePoorly and moderate101.913.19.150.97
      Well401.982.8514.5
      LocationDistal211.342.55.620.06
      Proximal292.044.620.25
      Size≤ 10 mm251.912.659.020.31
      > 10 mm251.744.717.25
      StageStage I and II282.23.6510.10.13
      Stage III and IV222.714.115.6
      * Mann–Whitney U test. ** Explore.

      Table 4. 

      Association of stool PMR values (percentiles) for the FOXF1 gene with demographic and pathological characteristics of the patient group.

    • Characteristics No. of patients Hypermethylation status** p value*
      Positive
      (%)      		 Negative (%)
      Age ≤ 50 years 16 12 (75%) 4 (25%) 0.61
      > 50 years 34 25 (73.5%) 9 (26.5%)
      Gender Female 30 24 (80%) 6 (20%) 0.14
      Male 20 13 (65%) 7 (35%)
      Histological grade Poor and
      moderate      		 10 8 (80%) 2 (20%) 0.53
      Well 40 29 (72.5%) 11 (27.5%)
      Tumor
      location      		 Distal 21 15 (71.4%) 6 (28.6%) 0.74
      Proximal 29 22 (75.9%) 7 (24.1%)
      Tumor size ≤ 10 mm 25 17 (68%) 8 (32%) 0.34
      > 10 mm 25 20 (80%) 5 (20%)
      Tumor stage Stage I and II 28 23 (82.1%) 5 (17.9%) 0.15
      Stage III and IV 22 19 (83.3%) 3 (16.7%)
      Methylation levels (PMR values) Median PMR
      (CRC patients)      		 0.06
      (95% CI; 0.01–13.1)      		 − < 0.001
      Median PMR (healthy controls) 0.01
      (95% CI; 0.0–0.02)      		 −
      * Fisher's exact test. ** Crosstabs.

      Table 5. 

      Association between FOXF1 gene promoter hypermethylation and clinicopathological characteristics.