High Expression of a Cancer Stemness-Related Gene, Chromobox 8 (CBX8), in Normal Tissue Adjacent to the Tumor (NAT) Is Associated with Poor Prognosis of Colorectal Cancer Patients

Cells

Oswens Siu-Hung Lo¹  Hung-Sing Li¹  Ariel Ka-Man Chow¹  Abraham Tak-Ka Man¹  Roberta Wen-Chi Pang¹  Lui Ng¹  Wai-Lun Law¹  Dominic Chi-Chung Foo¹ 

[1] Department of Surgery, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China;

关键词: CBX8;    colorectal cancer;    normal tissue adjacent to the tumor (NAT);    prognostic biomarker;   

DOI  :  10.3390/cells11111852

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Background: Several studies have demonstrated that the molecular profile of normal tissue adjacent to the tumor (NAT) is prognostic for recurrence in patients with different cancers. This study investigated the clinical significance of CBX8 gene expression, a cancer stemness-related gene, in tumor and NAT tissue of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Methods: The gene level of CBX8 in paired CRC and NAT specimens from 95 patients was determined by quantitative PCR. CBX8 protein level in CRC and NAT specimens from 66 patients was determined by immunohistochemistry. CBX8 gene and protein levels were correlated with the patients’ clinicopathological parameters and circulatory immune cell profiles. The association between CBX8 and pluripotency-associated genes was analyzed using the TCGA database. Results: NAT CBX8 gene level positively correlated with TNM stage, tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis, indicating its association with tumor progression and metastasis. There was no correlation between NAT CBX8 protein level and clinicopathological parameters. Moreover, a high level of CBX8 gene and protein in NAT both correlated with poor DFS and OS. There was an inverse correlation between CBX8 gene level and post-operative platelet counts and platelet to lymphocyte level, suggesting its association with systematic inflammation. Finally, TCGA analysis showed that CBX8 level was correlated with a couple of pluripotency-associated genes, supporting its association with cancer stemness. Conclusions: High NAT CBX8 is a poor prognostic factor for tumor progression and survival in CRC patients.

【 授权许可】

Unknown