Introduction: 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