Value analysis of ITLN1 in the diagnostic and prognostic assessment of colorectal cancer.

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Less than half of the patients are diagnosed when the cancer is locally advanced. Several studies have shown that intelectin-1 (ITLN1) can serve as a key prognostic and therapeutic target for CRC. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical value of ITLN1 in CRC and to analyse its potential as a predictive biomarker for CRC. Colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) is the main type of CRC. COAD project in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database served as the training cohort, and GSE39582 series in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database served as the external independent validation cohort. First, the difference in the expression level of ITLN1 between COAD tissue and normal tissue was analysed, and the results were verified via immunohistochemistry. The relationship between ITLN1 expression and the prognosis of COAD patients was evaluated via the heatmap and the Kaplan-Meier (KM) curve. The ITLN1 coexpressed gene set obtained by Pearson correlation analysis was used. The prognostic signatures that were significantly correlated with survival status were screened by Cox and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analyses. Finally, a nomogram related to ITLN1 was constructed based on the risk score of the prognostic signature and routine clinicopathological variables. ITLN1 is significantly underexpressed in tumour tissues and can be used as a valuable tool to distinguish COAD. The high-expression group of ITLN1 was verified to have a greater survival rate. ITLN1 is significantly associated with a good prognosis in COAD patients. Six candidate genes (ITLN1 and MORC2, SH2D7, LGALS4, ATOH1, and NAT2) were selected for use in the Cox-LASSO regression analysis to calculate the risk score. Finally, a nomogram was constructed with a comprehensive risk score and clinicopathologic factors to successfully predict and verify the 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year survival probability. Our study established ITLN1 as an effective tool for CRC screening, diagnosis, and prognostic assessment, provided a basis for further study of the molecular function of ITLN1, and provided new insights for the mechanistic exploration and treatment of CRC.