Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the role of IGFBP5 in colorectal cancer (CRC) and the relationship between the expression of IGFBP5 and clinicopathological parameters in CRC patients.
Patients and Methods: Immunohistochemical analysis was used to detect the expression of IGFBP5 and its correlation with clinicopathological parameters of CRC patients. Prognosis analysis, gene set enrichment analysis, and protein interaction network analysis were performed using bioinformatics analysis. The Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) dataset was used to analyze the correlation between the expression of IGFBP5 and drug resistance.
Results: Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the expression of IGFBP5 was significantly higher in CRC tissues than in para-cancerous tissues (P < 0.05). High expression of IGFBP5 was associated with tumor differentiation and the N stage of CRC (P < 0.05). Moreover, high expression of IGFBP5 predicted worse overall survival and disease-free survival in CRC patients (P < 0.05). The expression of IGFBP5 was associated with cell–matrix adhesion, extracellular matrix binding, and collagen binding (P < 0.05). Furthermore, IGFBP5 was involved in the Hedgehog signaling pathway and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway (P < 0.05). IGF1, IGF2, SPP1, LTBP1, and FAM20C were most closely related to IGFBP5.
Conclusion: The expression of IGFBP5 is upregulated and associated with tumor differentiation, lymph node metastasis, drug resistance, and prognosis in CRC patients.
Keywords: CRC, IGFBP5, IHC, prognosis, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway