Table 1.

CIMP Status of CRC Corresponds with Increased BLM Expression.

BLM Expression	Non-CIMP	CIMP	Total Cases	Percent CIMP	Group Mean	SD
T < N	11	0	11	0	0.75	0.22
T > N	11	4	15	26.6	2.62	2.59
All cases	22	4	26	15.3

When BLM expression is used to cluster cases into CRCs with BLM expression less in tumor compared to normal and CRCs with BLM expression greater in tumor compared to normal, we identified two distinct subgroups of CRCs (P < .05). Although clustering of cases by BLM expression does not predict differences in expression of any of the other four RecQ helicases, it does correlate with CIMP status. CIMP-positive tumors were observed only in cases where the expression of BLM was greater in the tumors compared to the normal colon. These results suggest that CIMP CRCs tend to correlate with higher BLM expression in the tumor compared to matched normal mucosa and not cases where BLM expression is decreased in the tumor compared to matched normal mucosa.