α-taxilin is a binding partner of syntaxins, which are the central coordinators 
of membrane traffic. Expression of α-taxilin has been implicated in the 
development of human glioblastoma, hepatocellular carcinoma and renal cell 
carcinoma. In the present study, the clinical significance of α-taxilin 
expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) was investigated. A total of 20 cases of 
colorectal intramucosal adenocarcinoma (IMA) with adenoma were analyzed using 
immunohistochemical analysis. The results demonstrated that α-taxilin expression 
was significantly associated with Ki-67 indices in adenoma and IMA. The patients 
expressed equally high levels of α-taxilin in the upper third of the 
intramucosal glands. These results suggest that α-taxilin expression is 
significantly associated with the proliferative activity of CRC, but that its 
overexpression alone is not a biomarker of malignancy. Next, α-taxilin 
expression was investigated in 57 advanced CRCs and its association with 
prognosis was determined. Well-differentiated and/or moderately differentiated 
adenocarcinomas in the left-sided colon with anatomic stage II and/or III were 
analyzed. α-taxilin expression levels were high on the surface of nearly all 
tumors, but variable at the deep advancing edge. α-taxilin levels at the 
advancing edge were not significantly associated with local invasiveness or 
prognosis. In conclusion, α-taxilin is a cell proliferation marker in colorectal 
epithelial neoplasms but cannot be a marker of malignancy or prognosis of CRCs.