The current study investigates the presence of mutations in K-ras and B-raf genes in colorectal carcinoma, in correlation with MAP kinase ERK expression and the expression of mismatch repair proteins (MMR) hMLH1 and hMSH2, attempting to elucidate the involvement of these MAP kinases in the development of colorectal cancer, as well as their correlations with standard clinicopathological parameters. The gene discussed is MAPK1; the disease is colorectal cancer.