Exploring the Expression of EMT-Related Transcription Factors and Their Association with PatientSurvival in Colon, Rectum and Stomach Adenocarcinomas: A Comprehensive Analysis

Introduction: Cancer is a life-threatening health concern with increasing statistics in industrialcountries and developing nations. Adenocarcinomas of the colon (COAD), rectum (READ), andstomach (STAD) rank among the top five cancers in terms of both incidence and mortality acrossgenders and age groups. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) refers to the transformation ofcells from stationary layers to more migratory and invasive phenotypes.Methods: In this study, we analyzed the expression of EMT-transcription factors from ZEB, SNAIL,and TWIST families across STAD, COAD, and READ. We utilized online databases GEPIA۲, Kaplan-Meier plotter, and GDC to determine the expression patterns and mutation rates of candidategenes, and also the overall survival of patients.Discussion and conclusion: Current analysis revealed that the median expression of ZEB۱, ZEB۲,SNAI۲, and TWIST۲ is obviously higher in normal samples of the colon, rectum, and stomach incomparison with their corresponding tumor tissues. Regarding SNAI۱, TWIST۱, and TCF۳, however,the expression is higher in COAD, READ, and STAD than in normal samples. Investigating therelationship between EMT-TFs expression and overall survival of patients indicated that high mRNAlevel of ZEB۱, ZEB۲, SNAI۱, SNAI۲, TWIST۱, and TWIST۲ is associated with poor overall survival inSTAD and COAD. However, only up-regulation of SNAI۱ is associated with poor overall survival inREAD. Finally, analyzing the distribution of EMT-TF mutated genes indicated that among allmutations in all genes, ZEB۱ has a higher rate of mutation in comparison with other EMT-TF genes.

Keywords:

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition , Colorectal adenocarcinoma , stomachadenocarcinoma , Transcription factors.