Elevated RBP-Jκ and CXCL11 Expression in Colon Cancer is Associated with an Unfavorable Clinical Outcome

Meng-jie Liu, Hui Guo, Li-li Jiang, Min Jiao, Shu-hong Wang, Tao Tian, Xiao Fu, Wen-juan Wang Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710061, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Wen-juan WangDepartment of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 277 Yanta West Road, Xi’an, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 15829235823Fax +86 29 85324086Email lingyinnancy@163.comIntroduction: This study aims at exploring the expression and significance of recombination signal-binding protein for immunoglobulin kappa J region (RBP-Jκ) and C-X-C motif chemokine 11 (CXCL11) in human colon cancer tissues.Methods: The RBP-Jκ and CXCL11 expression levels were assessed by immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in patients with colon cancer, and their prognostic significance was evaluated.Results: Through analyzing 342 samples of colon cancer patients treated at our institution, increased expression of RBP-Jκ and CXCL11 was found in human colon cancer specimens compared with matched paratumorous normal specimens (P< 0.001). A positive correlation was found between RBP-Jκ expression and CXCL11 expression (P< 0.001). High RBP-Jκ expression was significantly associated with poorly differentiated tumors (P=0.005), invasion beyond propria muscularis (P=0.025), lymph node metastases (P=0.005), distant metastasis (P< 0.001), advanced tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage (P=0.004), and a shorter overall survival (P< 0.001). An increase in CXCL11 protein expression was associated with poorly differentiated tumors (P=0.015), invasion beyond propria muscularis (P=0.029), lymph node metastases (P=0.031), distant metastasis (P=0.045), advanced TNM stage (P=0.026), and a shorter overall survival of patients (P< 0.001). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, RBP-Jκ protein expression (P=0.036), CXCL11 protein expression (P=0.001), differentiation (P< 0.001), depth of invasion (P=0.009), distant metastasis (P< 0.001), and TNM stage (P< 0.001) were independent prognostic indicators of colon cancer.Conclusion: High expression of RBP-Jκ is closely associated with high CXCL11 expression, which represents a risk factor for the poor overall survival of colon cancer patients.Keywords: RBP-Jκ, CXCL11, prognosis, colon cancer