Background: Damage-specific DNA binding protein 2 (DDB2) is implicated in the recognition of DNA damage and the initiation of nucleotide excision repair process. The aim of this study was to explore the role of DDB2 in the initiation, progression, and prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC).
Methods: Totally tissues of 300 CRC and 300 adjacent, 267 colorectal adenoma (CRA) and 214 normal (NOR) were collected. The expression of DDB2 protein was detected by immunohistochemical staining.
Results: DDB2 protein was highly expressed in CRC and CRA compared with NOR (P < 0.001, respectively) in the dynamic sequence of NOR → CRA → CRC; CRC tissue demonstrated increased DDB2 expression compared with non-tumor adjacent tissues (P < 0.001). DDB2 expression was higher in T1-T2 than that in T3-T4 in CRC (P = 0.023); cloddy/nested CRC demonstrated increased DDB2 expression than infiltrative CRC (P = 0.007). Survival analysis showed that high DDB2 expression was associated with favorable survival in colon cancer (adjusted HR 0.20, 95% CI 0.06-0.72, P = 0.014) and female CRC patients (adjusted HR 0.27, 95% CI 0.08-0.92, P = 0.036).
Conclusion: DDB2 protein expression was associated with the initiation, progression, and prognosis of CRC, and might function as a tumor biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of CRC.
Keywords: Colorectal cancer; DDB2; Expression.