COL12A1, a novel potential prognostic factor and therapeutic target in gastric cancer

Dysregulation of collagen type XII α1 chain (COL12A1) has been found in several cancer types and could be involved in tumor progression. However, its clinical significance in gastric cancer (GC) remains under exploration. Online databases (Gene Expression Omnibus and UALCAN), reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry were utilized in the present study to evaluate the expression of COL12A1 in GC tissues and cell lines. It was found that COL12A1 expression was notably upregulated in GC. Clinicopathological analysis showed that elevated COL12A1 expression was positively correlated with tumor invasiveness, metastasis and advanced clinical stage. The prognostic analysis suggested that high COL12A1 expression contributed to poor overall survival. Multivariate Cox analysis indicated that COL12A1 overexpression was a powerful independent prognostic indicator in patients with GC (hazard ratio, 1.896; 95% CI, 1.267–2.837; P=0.002). The results highlighted the importance of COL12A1 in GC and suggested its potential role as a candidate for clinical outcome prediction and targeted therapy in patients with GC.