Prognostic and diagnostic significance of annexin A2 in colorectal cancer.

AIM

Annexin A2 (ANXA2) is known to be a tumourigenic molecule and is highly expressed in colorectal cancer (CRC). Its diagnostic and prognostic value is not fully understood. This study was designed to investigate the relationship between ANXA2 expression, clinicopathological characteristics, tumour recurrence and survival.

METHOD

Immunohistochemical staining was used to evaluate ANXA2 expression in 150 matched samples from patients with CRC. Overall survival and recurrence were determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine independent factors contributing to survival and recurrence. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and liner correlation analysis were used to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of ANXA2 expression for clinical diagnosis.

RESULTS

ANXA2 was found to be strongly expressed in poorly differentiated tumours (P < 0.001), late stage (P = 0.020) and lymph node positivity (P = 0.002). ANXA2 expression was significantly related to recurrence (P < 0.001) and survival (P = 0.002). The Cox proportional hazards model indicated that ANXA2 expression [P < 0.001, hazard ratio (HR) = 1.366, 95% CI 1.232-1.515] and tumour location (P = 0.039, HR = 1.891, 95% CI 1.034-3.456) were independent factors in predicting overall survival while ANXA2 expression (P < 0.001, HR = 1.445, 95% CI 1.222-1.709) were independent factors predicting recurrence. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) (AUC = 0.768, 95% CI = 0.642-0.894) and liner correlation analysis suggested that ANXA2 was suitable for the clinical diagnosis of CRC.

CONCLUSION

These results indicate that ANXA2 is a biomarker with diagnostic and prognostic potential for patients with CRC.