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Updated: Feb 12, 2026
Using Human Differentially Expressed Gene Lists to Perform Downstream Pathway Enrichment Analysis and Target Prioritization
Published on: October 3, 2025
The Differential Expression of Core Genes in Nucleotide Excision Repair Pathway Indicates Colorectal Carcinogenesis
Jingwei Liu1, Hao Li1, Liping Sun1
1Tumor Etiology and Screening Department, Cancer Institute and General Surgery, The First Hospital of China Medical University and Key Laboratory of Cancer Etiology and Prevention, Liaoning Provincial Education Department, China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, China.
Background:
Nucleotide excision repair (NER) plays a critical role in maintaining genome integrity. This study aimed to investigate the expression of NER genes and their associations with colorectal cancer (CRC) development.
Method:
Expressions of NER genes in CRC and normal tissues were analysed by ONCOMINE. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data were downloaded to explore relationship of NER expression with clinicopathological parameters and survival of CRC.
Results:
ERCC1, ERCC2, ERCC5, and DDB2 were upregulated while ERCC4 was downregulated in CRC. For colon cancer, high ERCC3 expression was related to better T stage; ERCC5 expression indicated deeper T stage and distant metastasis; DDB2 expression suggested earlier TNM stage. For rectal cancer, ERCC2 expression correlated with favourable T stage; XPA expression predicted worse TNM stage. ERCC2 expression was associated with worse overall survival (OS) in colon cancer (HR = 1.53, P = 0.043). Colon cancer patients with high ERCC4 expression showed favorable OS in males (HR = 0.54, P = 0.035). High XPC expression demonstrated decreased death hazards in rectal cancer (HR = 0.40, P = 0.026).
Conclusion:
ERCC1, ERCC2, ERCC4, ERCC5, and DDB2 were differently expressed in CRC and normal tissues; ERCC2, ERCC3, ERCC5, XPA, and DDB2 correlated with clinicopathological parameters of CRC, while ERCC2, ERCC4, and XPC might predict CRC prognosis.
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