Higher plasma concentration of TP53-induced glycolysis and apoptosis regulator is associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer metastasis

PURPOSE: We aimed to explore the association of plasma TP53-induced glycolysis and apoptosis regulator (TIGAR) level with colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 126 CRC patients was conducted in Xiamen, China. Multivariable logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted OR and 95% CIs of plasma TIGAR concentration for CRC metastasis in different models with adjustment for potential confounders. Area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic value. RESULTS: CRC patients with metastasis showed significantly decreased plasma TIGAR concentration compared to their controls (1.97±0.64 vs 2.49±0.69 ng/mL [log transformed], P=0.002). Higher plasma TIGAR was significantly associated with the decreased risk of CRC metastasis, and the adjusted OR (95% CI) was 0.134 (0.027–0.676, P=0.015) for per SD increase in plasma TIGAR concentration, and the trend test for increasing tertiles showed a negative trend of plasma TIGAR on risk of CRC metastasis (P for trend test: 0.005). Pearson correlation coefficients of plasma TIGAR with other cancer biomarkers (carbohydrate antigen 50 [CA50], carbohydrate antigen 199 [CA199], carbohydrate antigen 125 [CA125], carbohydrate antigen 724 [CA724], carcinoembryonic antigen [CEA], and ferritin [FER]) was low (P>0.05). AUC (95% CI) of ROC curve of plasma TIGAR for CRC metastasis was comparable to the values of cancer biomarkers (all P-values <0.05). CONCLUSION: Higher level of plasma TIGAR was significantly and independently associated with lower risk of CRC metastasis, and its prognostic value on CRC metastasis was comparable to the common cancer biomarkers.