A new combined prognostic model involving SLC44A4 improves the predictive ability for colorectal cancer patients

Abstract

Abstract Prognosis prediction is crucial for improving therapeutic strategies and achieving better clinical outcomes in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Solute carrier family 44 member 4 (SLC44A4) is a prognostic marker in head and neck cancer, renal cancer, and urothelial cancer. However, its prognostic value in CRC has not been evaluated. To determine the prognostic significance of SLC44A4 in CRC, we evaluated this gene using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Next, we used tissue-microarray-based immunohistochemistry to assess the expression level of SLC44A4 protein in colorectal cancer tissues and analyzed the prognostic significance of SLC44A4. The online databases revealed that SLC44A4 was downregulated in CRC, and high expression of SLC44A4 was related to better overall survival (OS). Then, univariate and multivariate analysis of tissue-microarray-based immunohistochemistry data showed that SLC44A4 was an independent favorable prognostic factor for OS. Furthermore, the new prognostic model, including pM classification, absence or presence of relapse, and SLC44A4 expression level, had better predictive ability than the model without SLC44A4 expression level. So SLC44A4 gene could be a biomarker to predict the prognosis of CRC patients. In addition, this new prognostic model we proposed can improve the predictive ability to evaluate the prognosis and clinical outcomes of CRC patients.