Circulating guanylyl cyclase C (GCC) mRNA is a reliable metastatic predictor and prognostic index of colorectal cancer

Background: Currently, few specific biomarkers or standard cutoff values are available for circulating tumor cells (CTCs) detection and survival prediction in patients with early stage colorectal cancer (CRC). Guanylyl cyclase C (GCC) presents as a specific expression in intestinal tumor cells and during their metastases, indicating its potential application as a metastatic predictor of CRC.

Methods: The circulating GCC mRNA of 160 colorectal cancer patients at stage I-III was detected via quantitative real-time (qRT)-PCR in our study, and the correlation of GCC mRNA level with tumor metastasis and long-term survival was explored.

Results: GCC mRNA was found to be positive in 43 out of 160 CRC patients and negative in ten healthy controls. It was found that GCC mRNA over the baseline (>100 copies/µL and 200 copies/µL) showed a significant correlation with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in the stage II subgroup. It was further revealed that GCC mRNA over 300 copies/µL or higher than the median value of copy numbers was significantly correlated with reduced OS and DFS in CRC patients. A nomogram model based on variables including GCC mRNA copy number was established for predicting the OS of CRC patients (AUC =0.98).

Conclusions: Circulating GCC mRNA over baseline is a reliable predictor for tumor metastasis and can be a prognostic index in CRC patients.