Expression and Clinical Significance of Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor-Associated Factor 6 in Patients With Colon Cancer

BACKGROUND: Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) has been reported to be highly expressed in many tumor tissues, but it is still of value to detect its expression in patients with colon cancer and to clarify its clinical significance. OBJECTIVES: To study the expression and clinical significance of TRAF6 in patients with colon cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 135 patients with colon cancer who underwent surgery at our hospital from February 2008 to March 2013 were selected. The expression levels of TRAF6 protein in tumor and paracancerous tissues were detected with the immunohistochemical method to evaluate their clinical significance. RESULTS: The positive expression rate of TRAF6 in tumor tissues was 66.7%, which was significantly higher than in normal paracancerous tissues (18.5%). The positive expression rate of TRAF6 was significantly correlated with Dukes’ staging, degree of differentiation, and lymphatic metastasis (P < 0.05), but not gender or age (P > 0.05). The expression level of TRAF6 was negatively correlated with the 5-year survival rate; patients with high TRAF6 expression levels had significantly decreased survival compared to those with low levels (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: TRAF6 plays an important role in the onset of colon cancer; therefore, drugs targeting it may have great clinical significance in the treatment of this disease.