The Impact of DTYMK as a Prognostic Marker in Colorectal Cancer

Abdulaziz A Aloliqi; Abdul-Fattah Fararjeh; Ali Al-Khader; Ezidin Kaddumi; Alaa Abdulaziz Eisa; Weam Jaradat

doi:10.14740/wjon1571

The Impact of DTYMK as a Prognostic Marker in Colorectal Cancer

World J Oncol. 2023 Feb;14(1):84-93. doi: 10.14740/wjon1571. Epub 2023 Feb 26.

Authors

Abdulaziz A Aloliqi^{1

2}, Abdul-Fattah Fararjeh^{3

2}, Ali Al-Khader^{4

5}, Ezidin Kaddumi⁶, Alaa Abdulaziz Eisa⁷, Weam Jaradat⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Biotechnology, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia.
² These authors contributed equally to this article.
³ Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Science, Al-Balqa Applied University, Al-salt, Jordan.
⁴ Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Balqa Applied University, Al-salt, Jordan.
⁵ Department of pathology, Al-Hussein Salt Hospital, Al-salt, Jordan.
⁶ Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Balqa Applied University, Al-salt, Jordan.
⁷ Department of Medical Laboratories Technology, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, Medina, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Graduate Study, Al-Balqa Applied University, Al-Salt, Jordan.

Abstract

Background: Overexpression of deoxythymidylate kinase (DTYMK) has been associated with more aggressiveness and pathological behaviors in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the expression of DTYMK and its prognostic significance in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients are yet unknown. The goal of this study was to investigate the DTYMK immunohistochemistry reactivity in CRC tissues and to see how it correlated with various histological and clinical features as well as survival.

Methods: Several bioinformatics databases and two tissue microarrays (TMAs) of 227 cases were used in this study. Immunohistochemistry assay was used to study the protein expression of DTYMK.

Results: Based on the GEPIA, UALCAN, and Oncomine databases, DTYMK expression has increased in tumor tissues at both RNA and protein levels in colorectal adenocarcinoma (COAD) compared to normal tissues. A high DTYMK H-score was found in 122/227 (53%) of the cases, whereas a low DTYMK H-score was found in 105/227. The age at diagnosis (P = 0.036), stage of the disease (P = 0.038), and site of origin (P = 0.032) were all linked to a high DTYMK H-score. Patients with high level of DTYMK had bad overall survival. Interestingly, high DTYMK protein level was associated with PSM2 (P = 0.002) and MSH2 (P = 0.003), but not with MLH2 or MSH6.

Conclusion: This is the first study to cover the expression and prognostic significance of DTYMK in CRC. DTYMK was upregulated in CRC and could be considered as a prognostic biomarker.

Keywords: Colorectal cancer; DTYMK; H-score; Prognosis.