Up-regulated DDX39 in Adrenocortical Carcinoma Is Associated With Patient Survival

Adrenocortical carcinoma is a very rare tumor characterized by poor prognosis and high mortality. The origin of this tumor is primarily the adrenal cortex. The 5-year overall survival rate of patients with adrenocortical carcinoma has not improved despite therapeutic advances. Early detection of this malignancy remains difficult, and no standard curative therapy currently exists. Therefore, it is important to understand the biology of adrenocortical carcinoma, and to identify prognostic biomarkers and molecular targets for its therapy. DDX39 is an Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp (DEAD)-box RNA helicase, which is required for transcription, splicing and transport of mRNA. There are some reports about overexpression of DDX39 in tumor tissues and cells (lung squamous cell cancer, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, urinary bladder cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma). However, the clinicopathological involvement of DDX39 in adrenocortical carcinoma has not yet been documented.

The GEPIA, GEPIA2, and UALCAN platforms were used to analyze DDX39 mRNA expression and survival in patients with adrenocortical carcinoma.

DDX39 was found to be significantly up-regulated in adrenocortical carcinoma tissues, and this up-regulation inversely correlated with prolonged patient survival.

DDX39 may be a potential prognostic biomarker in patients with adrenocortical carcinoma.