title: TWIST1 is expressed in colorectal carcinomas and predicts patient survival.
abstract: TWIST1 is a transcription factor that belongs to the family of basic helix-loop-helix proteins involved in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and invasion processes. The TWIST1 protein possesses oncogenic, drug-resistant, angiogenic and invasive properties, and has been related with several human tumors and other pathologies. Colorectal cancer is one of the tumors in which TWIST1 is over-expressed, but its involvement in the clinical outcome of the disease is still unclear. We tested, by RT-PCR, the expression levels of TWIST1 in normal and tumor paired-sample tissues from a series of 151 colorectal cancer patients, in order to investigate its prognostic value as a tumor marker. TWIST1 expression was restricted to tumor tissues (86.1%) and correlated with lymph node metastasis (LNM). Adjusted analysis showed that the expression levels of TWIST1 correlated with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Importantly, TWIST1 expression levels predicted OS specifically at stages I and II. Moreover, patients with stage II tumors and high TWIST1 levels showed even shorter survival than patients with stage III tumors. These results suggest that TWIST1 expression levels could be a tumor indicator in stage II patients and help select patients at greater risk of poor prognosis who might benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro de Majadahonda, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peña
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herrera
authors.forename: Concepción
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.forename: Maria Jesus
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Larriba
authors.forename: Vanesa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dominguez
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Rufo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garcia de Herreros
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bonilla
authors.forename: Jose M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Garcia
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D051879:Twist-Related Protein 1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C103173:TWIST1 protein, human; D051879:Twist-Related Protein 1