Background: Spy1 (SPDYA) is a new discovered cell cycle protein capable of promoting cell proliferation dependent on cyclin-dependent kinase-2 activation. However, to the best of our knowledge, the expression of Spy1 in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues remains virtually unknown.
Materials and methods: In this retrospective study, we investigated the mRNA and protein expression levels of Spy1 in CRC tissues and corresponding non-cancerous tissues with the analyses of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. In our research, the prognostic significances of Spy1 expression were further explored by univariate and multivariate survival analyses of 203 patients who were followed up.
Results: The results demonstrated that the levels of Spy1  mRNA were significantly higher in CRC tissues compared with corresponding non-cancerous tissues (p =0.0002). The results of immunohistochemistry demonstrated that the expressions of Spy1 were significantly associated with clinicopathological parameters, including T stage (χ ²=7.126, p =0.028) and TNM stage (χ ²=9.461, p =0.009). Kaplan-Meier analysis results indicated that high Spy1 expression (HR=2.573, p <0.001) and TNM stage (HR=1.494, p =0.011) were independent factors to predict poor prognosis for patients with CRC.
Conclusion: We concluded that high Spy1 expression is significantly associated with unfavorable prognosis in CRC and could serve as a potential prognostic marker in clinical diagnosis of CRC.
Keywords: Spy1, colorectal cancer, prognostic marker, clinical diagnosis