Objective:To explore the expression of Musashi-1 mRNA in colonic cancer,which is a putative intestinal stem and early progenitor cell marker. Methods:The mRNA expression of Musashi-1 gene in 25 colonic cancer specimens and 18 distal normal colon tissues was detected by relatively quantitative real-time RT-PCR method. The multiples of expression of Musashi-1 in colonic cancer relative to distal normal colon tissue was calculated by the method of 2-△△CT. Results:By Real-time RT-PCR method,the expression of Musashi-1 mRNA in colonic cancer was 4.24(1.95-9.23)times higher than that in distal normal colon tissue. There was a significant difference between them(P < 0.01). The expression of Musashi-1 mRNA in the poorly differentiated colonic cancer was significantly different from the high and medium differentiated tissues(P < 0.001 and P < 0.005). The expression of Musashi-1 mRNA in the poorly differentiated colonic cancer was 5.54(3.07-9.98)times higher than that in the high differentiated tissues. Conclusion:The expression of Musashi-1 mRNA in colonic cancer especially is higher in poorly differentiated tissues than in distal normal colon tissue,which suggests that Musashi-1,the intestinal stem and early progenitor cell marker,may play an important role in the initiation and development of the colonic cancer.