To investigate the expression of KIAA1199 in tumor tissue and its potential value as a prognostic indicator of survival in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). The expression of KIAA1199 mRNA in CRC was characterized using real-time PCR and 20 pairs of fresh-frozen CRC tissues and corresponding non-cancerous tissues. KIAA1199 protein expression was confirmed using immunohistochemistry on a tissue microarray chip from 202 patients with CRC. Then, we correlated KIAA1199 protein expression to CRC conventional clinicopathological features and patient's outcome. The expression of KIAA1199 mRNA and protein were up-regulated in CRC compared to normal tissues (P=0.015 and P<0.001, individually). KIAA1199 protein expression was related to tumor invasion depth (P=0.013) and lymph node metastasis (P=0.003). Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox regression analyses revealed that high KIAA1199 expression (P<0.001) and serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level post operation (P=0.005) were independent factors predicting poor prognosis of patients with CRC. We present evidence that high expression of KIAA1199 is associated with tumor invasion depth, TNM stage, and poor prognosis in CRC. Our findings suggest KIAA1199 could be used as a prognostic factor and novel therapeutic target for CRC.
Keywords: KIAA1199; colorectal cancer; immunohistochemistry; prognosis.