Conclusions
DOK3 is a potential biomarker for determining KIRC patient clinical prognosis.
Methods
We analyzed KIRC-related data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and used several bioinformatics tools, such as LinkedOmics and Oncomine, to evaluate DOK3 mRNA expression in KIRC. DOK3 protein expression was examined in 150 clinical KIRC samples and 100 non-cancerous renal tissues with immunohistochemistry assays. The prognostic value of DOK3 mRNA expression on patient overall survival was analyzed retrospectively using Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox regression analyses.
Results
DOK3 mRNA expression was notably higher in KIRC samples compared with normal tissues. Significant correlations were found between DOK3 mRNA expression levels and tumor size, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and pathological grade using the bioinformatics data. This was confirmed at the protein level with immunohistochemistry data. Survival analyses indicated that elevated DOK3 expression is linked to a lower overall survival rate in KIRC patients. Conclusions: DOK3 is a potential biomarker for determining KIRC patient clinical prognosis.