ATM expression was seen in 199/228 (87%) of adjacent normal mucosa and 204/250 (82%) of distal normal mucosa. ATM expression was higher in normal mucosa taken near the tumor (M = 6.43) compared to samples taken away from the tumor (M = 4.25). Again, this finding was statistically significant (P<0.001). ATM expression in both TC and TP were significantly higher than in distal normal mucosa (P<0.001 and P = 0.005 respectively), but not significantly different to that in the adjacent normal mucosa.