High expression of NEDD9 predicts adverse outcomes of colorectal cancer patients

NEDD9, a member of Crk-associated substrate (CAS) family, is highly expressed in multiple cancer types and involved cancer cell adhesion, migration, invasion. The prognostic value of NEDD9 has not been evaluated before. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between NEDD9 expression and survival in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. NEDD9 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in 92 patients with CRC. Patients were followed-up annually by telephone or at outpatient clinic. The results revealed that high expression of NEDD9 in 68/92 CRC samples, compared with 12/92 normal tissues (P<0.01). Correlation analysis showed high level of expression of NEDD9 was significantly correlated with advanced TNM stage (P=0.014), pT grade (P=0.009), pN (P=0.013) and pM status (P=0.047). Patients with a higher NEDD9 expression had a significantly shorter overall survival (OS) (P<0.01). The multivariate analysis revealed that NEDD9 expression could serve as an independent predictive factor of OS. Our finding demonstrated the potential value of NEDD9 expression level as a prognostic molecular marker and a target for new therapies for CRC patients.