High expression of growth factor receptor-bound protein 14 predicts poor prognosis for colorectal cancer patients

To explore the roles of growth factor receptor-bound protein 14 (GRB14) in colorectal cancer (CRC) and its correlation with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of CRC patients.

GRB14 was localized in the cytoplasm of CRC and benign glandular epithelium cells, showing higher levels in CRC tissues compared with normal colon samples (P < 0.001). High GRB14 was associated with a high pathological grade (P = 0.045), advanced clinical stage (P = 0.018), enhanced tumor invasion (P < 0.001) and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.028). The cancer genome atlas (TCGA) mRNA sequence data showed that GRB14 was upregulated in CRC at an advanced clinical stage (P = 0.011) with enhanced tumor invasion (P < 0.001) and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.014). Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed that CRC patients with high GRB14 levels had a shorter survival compared with those showing low GRB14 expression (P = 0.007). High GRB14 expression was an independent prognostic factor for CRC patients (HR 2.847, 95 %CI 1.058-7.659; P = 0.038).

GRB14 may be an important cancer promoter that enhances CRC progression. Upregulated GRB14 levels may predict a poor clinical outcome in CRC patients.