Abstract
BACKGROUND: Epigenetic involvement of methyltransferase-like factor 14 (METTL14) in tumor development has not been clearly defined. AIM: To investigate METTL14 expression and its relationship with pathological stage in patients undergoing radical surgery for colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: This retrospective study included 80 patients with CRC who were admitted to the Third Hospital of Hefei and the Western District of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University between June 2021 and June 2024. These patients were selected for treatment. Lesions and adjacent tissues were collected from these patients, and METTL14 expression was assessed using immunohistochemistry. Expression levels of METTL14 were compared across different tissue samples. Additionally, we evaluated METTL14 expression in patients with varying pathological characteristics using statistical methods such as χ (2) tests and analysis of variance to identify significant differences. RESULTS: The positivity rate of METTL14 in tumor tissues was significantly lower than that in adjacent tissues (30% vs 60%, P < 0.05). Conversely, the negative expression rate of METTL14 was higher in tumor tissues compared to adjacent tissues (P < 0.05). The positive expression of METTL14 mRNA did not differ by age, sex, tumor tissue classification, tumor diameter, or tumor location (P > 0.05). However, the positive expression rate of METTL14 was significantly lower in patients with lymph node metastasis, invasion depth T3 + T4, and tumor, node, and metastasis (TNM) stage III/IV compared to those without lymph node metastasis, invasion depth T1 + T2, and TNM stage I (P < 0.05). Specifically, METTL14 mRNA expression was significantly lower in patients with lymph node metastasis (0.51 ± 0.12 vs 1.23 ± 0.25, P < 0.001), invasion depth T3 + T4 (0.48 ± 0.15 vs 1.18 ± 0.21, P < 0.001), and TNM stage III/IV (0.45 ± 0.13 vs 1.20 ± 0.22, P < 0.001) compared to those with no lymph node metastasis, invasion depth T1 + T2, and TNM stage I, respectively. CONCLUSION: In CRC, low positive METTL14 expression is closely correlated with lymph node metastasis, invasion depth T3 + T4, and TNM stage, indicating the malignant biological behavior of rectal cancer.