Activating Transcription Factor 1 is a Prognostic Marker of Colorectal Cancer

Objective: Identifying cancer-related genes or proteins is critical in preventing and controlling colorectal cancer (CRC). This study was to investigate the clinicopathological and prognostic value of activating transcription factor 1 (ATF1) in CRC.
Methods: Protein expression of ATF1 was detected using immunohistochemistry in 66 CRC tissues. Clinicopathological association of ATF1 in CRC was analyzed with chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test. The prognostic value of ATF1 in CRC is estimated using the Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression models.
Results: The ATF1 protein expression was significantly lower in tumor tissues than corresponding normal tissues (51.5% and 71.1%, respectively, P = 0.038). No correlation was found between ATF1 expression and the investigated clinicopathological parameters, including gender, age, depth of invasion, lymph node status, metastasis, pathological stage, vascular tumoral emboli, peritumoral deposits, chemotherapy and original tumor site (all with P > 0.05). Patients with higher ATF1 expression levels have a significantly higher survival rate than that with lower expression (P = 0.026 for overall survival, P = 0.008 for progress free survival). Multivariate Cox regression model revealed that ATF1 expression and depth of invasion were the predictors of the overall survival ( P = 0.008 and P = 0.028) and progress free survival ( P = 0.002 and P = 0.005) in CRC.
Conclusions: Higher ATF1 expression is a predictor of a favorable outcome for the overall survival and progress free survival in CRC.