The human FAD-dependent oxidoreductase domain containing 1 (FOXRED1) protein is reported as an assembly factor which promotes the correct assembly and stability of mitochondrial Complex I (CI). Alterations of mitochondrial CI might cause tumorigenesis and metastasis, but it's molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we selected 145 cases of colorectal cancer for immunohistochemistry to explore the role of FOXRED1 played in the tumor progression of colorectal cancer. The relationship between FOXRED1 expression and clinicopathological features of colorectal cancers was evaluated. FOXRED1 mainly localized in the cytoplasm in the colorectal cancer tissues, and had significant association with histopathological grading, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and TNM stage (P<0.05 for each). However, age, gender and tumor location was not found to be associated with FOXRED1 expression. Colorectal cancer patients with higher expression of FOXRED1 had the higher 3 year survival rate (P=0.003). Moreover, FOXRED1 had potentiality to be an independent prognostic factor for survival in colorectal cancer (P=0.04). Low FOXRED1 expression correlated with poor prognosis of colorectal cancer and targeting this molecular will be a potential treatment strategy for colorectal cancer.
Keywords: FOXRED1; colorectal cancer; immunohistochemistry; prognosis.