Clinicopathological Characteristics of PRRX1 and PRRX2 Genes Expressions in Colorectal Cancer Patients

Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks as the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. It results from polyp growth or ulcers formation in the colon or intestine lining. Genetic, environmental factors, unhealthy eating habits, and lifestyle choices contribute to CRC development. Genetic and epigenetic changes play a crucial role in tumor development. Homeobox (HOX) genes contain the homeodomain, encoding transcription factors that regulate gene expression. Paired Related Homeobox 1 (PRRX1) and Paired Related Homeobox 2(PRRX2), a homeobox genes, is overexpressed in diseases and involved in tumor metastasis, impacting cancer cell properties and metastasis. In this study, our goal was to analyze the presence of PRRX1and PRRX2 in both colorectal cancer and nearby normal tissues. The expression levels of PRRX1 and PRRX2 were evaluated in 100 colorectal tumor tissues and 100 adjacent control tissues using the Quantitative Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR) method. Additionally, we assessed the diagnostic effectiveness of PRRX1 and PRRX2 by creating a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Our findings showed that the expression of PRRX1 and PRRX2 were significantly overexpress in colorectal cancer patients compared to the adjacent control group sample. Examination of clinicopathological characteristics of patients revealed varied correlations between PRRX1 and PRRX2 genes expressions and TMN stage (p<0.0001, p<0.0001). Also, the expression levels of PRRX1, PRRX2 between patients with LVI+ and those with LVI-, with p-values of p<0.0001, p<0.0001 for each. These findings suggest that PRRX1and PRRX2 levels could be used as possible diagnostic indicators for colorectal cancer.