High expression of Aldolase A predicts poor survival in patients with clear-cell renal cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Aldolase A (ALDOA) is a glycolytic enzyme that drives the glycolytic metabolic pathway in mammalian cells. The overexpression of ALDOA was observed in a variety of cancers including clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). However, little was known about the clinicopathological significance and prognostic value of ALDOA in ccRCC patients. METHODS: The expression of ALDOA was detected using immunohistochemical staining in 162 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded ccRCC sections. Prognostic outcomes correlated with ALDOA were examined using Kaplan–Meier analysis and the Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: In patients with ccRCC, increased cytoplasmic ALDOA expression was positively associated with tumor size (P=0.021), TNM stages (P=0.034), lymph node metastasis (P=0.020), and overall survival (OS) (P<0.001). Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that high cytoplasmic expression of ALDOA was associated with a statistically significant lower OS (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that ALDOA expression was an independent and significant prognostic factor (HR =3.561, 95% CI =1.715–7.396, P=0.001). ALDOA expression was not associated with significant prognostic deference in the subgroups of TNM stage I patients or pT1 patients. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that ALDOA expression is an independent prognostic factor for OS in patients with ccRCC.