Objects: To explore the roles of growth factor receptor-bound protein 14 (GRB14) in colorectal cancer (CRC) and its correlation with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of CRC patients.
Results: GRB14 was localized in the cytoplasm of CRC and benign glandular epithelium cells, showing higher levels in CRC tissues compared with normal colon samples (P < 0.001). High GRB14 was associated with a high pathological grade (P = 0.045), advanced clinical stage (P = 0.018), enhanced tumor invasion (P < 0.001) and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.028). The cancer genome atlas (TCGA) mRNA sequence data showed that GRB14 was upregulated in CRC at an advanced clinical stage (P = 0.011) with enhanced tumor invasion (P < 0.001) and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.014). Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed that CRC patients with high GRB14 levels had a shorter survival compared with those showing low GRB14 expression (P = 0.007). High GRB14 expression was an independent prognostic factor for CRC patients (HR 2.847, 95 %CI 1.058-7.659; P = 0.038).
Conclusions: GRB14 may be an important cancer promoter that enhances CRC progression. Upregulated GRB14 levels may predict a poor clinical outcome in CRC patients.
Keywords: Colorectal cancer; Growth factor receptor-bound protein 14; Prognosis.