Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Translocase of the inner mitochondrial membrane 50 (TIMM50) is universally considered to play a key role in several malignancies. However, its role in predicting colorectal cancer (CRC) patient prognosis remains unclear. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 192 CRC patients (123 men and 69 women) who underwent radical resection participated in this study. The patients were followed up every 3 months after surgery for 5 years. TIMM50 expression in tumour tissues was measured by quantitative real-time PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. TIMM50 expression was studied to assess correlations with clinicopathological factors and survival time. RESULTS: TIMM50 expression increased significantly in CRC tumour tissues. Moreover, high TIMM50 expression was related to pathologic stage (p = 0.043), N stage (p = 0.048) and distant metastasis (p = 0.015), but TIMM50 expression was not related to other clinical factors. A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that patients with low TIMM50 expression had a longer overall survival than those with high TIMM50 expression (p = 0.002). Furthermore, distant metastasis and high TIMM50 expression were confirmed as independent prognostic factors for the overall survival of CRC patients in a multivariate analysis (p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: TIMM50 may be a key factor for monitoring CRC and a new prognosis indicator for CRC patients.