Genetic variations in STK11, PRKAA1, and TSC1 associated with prognosis for patients with colorectal cancer.
BACKGROUND
Assuming an association between cancer and metabolism, oncogene-directed metabolic reprogramming in cancer has revealed new target strategies. For example, the LKB1-AMPK-mTOR signaling pathway genes are already known to alter the cell metabolism and to play a critical role in the malignant behavior of cancer. Accordingly, based on the assumption that genetic variations in the LKB1-AMPK-mTOR signaling pathway can change the intracellular signal in terms of metabolic reprogramming, the present study analyzed 18 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the STK11, PRKAA1, TSC1/2, and mTOR genes and their impact on the survival of patients with colorectal cancer.


METHODS
Seven hundred seventy-two patients with surgically resected colorectal adenocarcinoma were enrolled in the present study. Eighteen SNPs were selected from an in silico analysis based on previous evidence of association. The SNP genotyping was performed using a SEQUENOM MassARRAY.


RESULTS
Among the 18 polymorphisms, three SNPs (STK11 rs741765, PRKAA1 rs461404, and TSC1 rs13295634) were significantly associated with disease-free survival (DFS) or overall survival (OS). In a multivariate analysis, the GG genotype of STK11, TT genotype of PRKAA1, and TG or GG genotype of TSC1 were identified as independent prognostic factors for a worse DFS (hazard ratio = 1.398, 1.408, and 1.388; p = 0.030, 0.013, and 0.002, respectively) and OS (hazard ratio = 1.431, 1.680, and 1.394; p = 0.038, 0.001, and 0.009, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
The present results suggest that genetic variants of the STK11, PRKAA1, and TSC1 genes could be used as prognostic biomarkers for patients with surgically resected colorectal cancer.
Department of Oncology/Hematology, Kyungpook National University Medical Center, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
Soo Jung
SJ
Lee
Byung Woog
BW
Kang
Yee Soo
YS
Chae
Hye Jin
HJ
Kim
Su Yeon
SY
Park
Jun Seok
JS
Park
Gyu Seog
GS
Choi
Hyo-Sung
HS
Jeon
Won Kee
WK
Lee
Jong Gwang
JG
Kim
D000091162:AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases; D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000628:therapy; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000628:therapy; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics; D015996:Survival Rate; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics; D000077004:Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 1 Protein; D000077005:Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 2 Protein; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D055815:Young Adult
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C000624650:TSC1 protein, human; D000077004:Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 1 Protein; D000077005:Tuberous Sclerosis Complex 2 Protein; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; C546842:MTOR protein, human; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C109790:STK11 protein, human; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; D000091162:AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases; D055372:AMP-Activated Protein Kinases; C526180:PRKAA1 protein, human