Overexpression of Rab1B and MMP9 predicts poor survival and good response to chemotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer

Rab1B has recently been reported to be involved in human cancer, but the role of Rab1B in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the expression of Rab1B and MMP9 in CRC by qRT-PCR, immunoblot and immunohistochemistry and analyzed the clinical significance. The results show that Rab1B and MMP9 are increased at both mRNA and protein levels in CRC cell lines and tissues, as measured by qRT-PCR and immunoblotting. The high protein expression of Rab1B and MMP9 in 179 CRC tissues is associated with deep tumor invasion, lymph-node metastasis and advanced TNM stage. Survival analysis indicates that patients with overexpression of Rab1B or MMP9 have significantly worse overall survival and progression-free survival, but better response to chemotherapy than those with low expression of proteins, and that Rab1B is an independent prognostic factor for CRC patients. Furthermore, when Rab1B and MMP9 are combined into a new risk model, it has a remarkably better prediction of prognosis than each protein alone. In conclusion, Rab1B and MMP9 are potential prognostic biomarkers and their combination significantly improves predictive power for survival and chemotherapy response in CRC patients.