SOX8 Is Overexpressed In Colorectal Cancer And Predicts Poor Prognosis

ObjectiveAberrant SRY-box 8(SOX8)expression has been discovered to have a close correlation with the development and progression of many types of human cancers.However,the correlation of SOX8 expression with the clinicopathologic variables of colorectal cancer(CRC)has not been defined.Moreover,little is known about the relationship between SOX8 expression and overall survival in CRC.MethodsTissue microarrays were constructed using clinically annotated,formalin-fixed,paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 424 primary colorectal cancer patients with clinicopathological information and follow-up data.We performed immunohistochemistry(IHC)on tissue microarrays to find the relationship between SOX8 expression and clinicopathological information and prognosis.ResultsThe expression of SOX8 was higher in colorectal cancer tissues than in non-tumor adjacent tissues(NATs)(P< 0.001).High SOX8 expression significantly associated with tumor invasion depth(P = 0.049)and shorter overall survival time after operation(P = 0.004).Subsequently,multivariate analysis identified that high SOX8 expression(P = 0.004),poor differentiation(P= 0.006),deeper invasion depth(P = 0.003),higher rate of lymph node metastasis(P< 0.001),and distant metastasis(P< 0.001)all significantlypredicted decreased overall survival.ConclusionsThe expression of SOX8 was significantly higher in CRC tissues compared with NATs andhigh SOX8 expression levels significantly associated with tumor invasion depth(P=0.049).The expression of SOX8 is an independent prognostic factor for CRC.