Clinical and Prognostic Values of REEP2 in Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

REEP2 (Receptor Expression-Enhancing Protein 2) has been implicated in various cellular processes, but its clinical relevance in colorectal cancer in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the association between REEP2 expression and clinicopathologic features, molecular correlations, and patient prognosis in colon and rectal cancers using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data. In rectal cancer, higher REEP2 expression has statistically significant relation with venous invasion, advanced pathologic stage, advanced M stage, and advanced N stage. In colon cancer, higher REEP2 expression has statistically significant relation with lymphatic invasion, venous invasion, advanced N stage, colon mucinous adenocarcinoma type, and anatomic neoplasm. Survival analysis showed that higher REEP2 expression was significantly associated with poorer overall survival in colon cancer (p=0.020), and showed a trend toward worse prognosis in rectal cancer (p=0.078). High REEP2 expression is associated with aggressive tumor characteristics and poor survival outcomes in colorectal cancer, particularly in colon cancer. To enhance our knowledge, further studies to demonstrate the molecular pathogenesis and clinical characteristics of REEP2 gene in colorectal cancer should be needed.