To investigate the relationship between TGF-β1 and co-inhibitory molecules B7-H3 and B7-H4 in colorectal cancer (CRC), we first measured the expression levels of TGF-β1, B7-H3 and B7-H4 in 78 CRC tissues and 5 cell lines. This evidence concerns the gene VTCN1 and colorectal carcinoma.