Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Aug 26, 2024; 12(24): 5492-5501
Published online Aug 26, 2024. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i24.5492
Correlation between TEX14 and ADAM17 expressions in colorectal cancer tissues of elderly patients and neoplasm staging, invasion, and metastasis
Gun Chen, Ling-Hua Cong, Chi-Jiang Gu, Ping Li
Gun Chen, Ling-Hua Cong, Ping Li, Department of Pathology, The Affiliated People’s Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo 315000, Zhejiang Province, China
Chi-Jiang Gu, Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Affiliated People’s Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo 315000, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Chen G designed the research study; Chen G and Cong LH performed the research; Chen G, Gu CJ, and Li P analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of The Affiliated People's Hospital of Ningbo University (Approval No. 2020-NB-021032).
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to provide informed consent for the study because the analysis used anonymous clinical data that were obtained after each patient agreed to the treatment through written consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: No other data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: Https: //creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Gun Chen, BMed, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Pathology, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Ningbo University, No. 251 Baizhang Street, Yinzhou District, Ningbo 315000, Zhejiang Province, China. nbmike0139@163.com
Received: April 30, 2024
Revised: June 6, 2024
Accepted: June 19, 2024
Published online: August 26, 2024
Processing time: 71 Days and 18.6 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequently encountered malignant tumors in clinical settings. Proteins encoded by the testis-expressed gene 14 (TEX14) are imperative for spermatogenesis, necessitating intercellular bridges between germ cells. Anomalous expression of TEX14 has also been associated with the proliferation and differentiation of certain tumor cells. Recombinant A disintegrin and metalloprotease 17 (ADAM17) is known as a membrane-bound protease that regulates cellular activities and signal transduction by hydrolyzing various substrate proteins on the cell membrane. We hypothesize that TEX14 and ADAM17 may serve as potential biomarkers influencing the staging, invasion, and metastasis of CRC.

AIM

To probe the correlation between TEX17 and ADAM17 profiles in the CRC tissues of elderly patients and their association with CRC staging, invasion, and metastasis.

METHODS

We gathered data from 86 elderly patients diagnosed pathologically with CRC between April 2020 and December 2023. For each patient, one sample of cancer tissue and one sample of adjacent normal tissue were harvested. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR measured the mRNA profiles of TEX14 and ADAM17. Immunohistochemistry ascertained the positivity rates of TEX14 and ADAM17 expressions. Clinical pathological features of neoplasm staging, invasion, and metastasis were collected, and the association between TEX14 and ADAM17 expressions and clinical pathology was evaluated.

RESULTS

The mRNA and expression profiles of TEX14 and ADAM17 were significantly elevated in CRC tissues. The positivity rates of TEX14 and ADAM17 proteins in CRC tissues were 70.93% and 77.91%, respectively. There were no significant differences in age, sex, pathological type, and tumor diameter between TEX14 and ADAM17-positive and -negative patients. Patients with higher tumor differentiation degree, deeper infiltration and TNM stages ranging from III to IV exhibited higher positivity rates of TEX14 and ADAM17. Patients with lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis showed higher positivity rates of TEX14 and ADAM17 than those without. Positive expressions of TEX14 and ADAM17 were highly correlated with tumor staging, invasion, and metastasis.

CONCLUSION

TEX14 and ADAM17 profiles were significantly elevated in the CRC tissues of elderly patients, and their high expressions were associated with tumor staging, invasion, and metastasis.

Keywords: Elderly patients, Colorectal cancer, TEX14, ADAM17, Staging, Invasion, Metastasis

Core Tip: This research retrospectively harvested clinical data from 86 elderly patients pathologically diagnosed with colorectal cancer to explore the impact of testis-expressed gene 14 (TEX14) and A disintegrin and metalloprotease 17 (ADAM17) expressions on tumor staging, invasion, and metastasis. The outcomes revealed high expressions of TEX14 and ADAM17 in tumor tissues, which were highly correlated with tumor staging, invasion, and metastasis. This suggests that TEX14 and ADAM17 could serve as effective biomarkers for diagnosing and evaluating the progression of CRC in elderly patients.