High DND1 Level Indicates a Poor Prognostic Factor in Prostate Cancer

BACKGROUND: Dead end 1 (DND1) plays a vital role during oncogenesis and cancer progression by regulating the mRNA content via competitive combination with miRNA, but what function it exerts in prostate cancer has been unclear. The purpose of this paper is to explore the correlation between DND1 expression levels and clinical characteristics in prostate cancer (PCa) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To assess the expression of DND1 in tumor specimens compared with paired paracancerous tissues, the sample from 83 patients was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was used to verify our results. Subsequently, we statistically analyzed the relationship between DND1 expression and the clinical prognosis of PCa patients. RESULTS: Compared with paracancerous tissues, DND1 has a higher expression level in prostate cancer. The overexpression of DND1 in protein level was significantly associated with the higher clinical stage (P = 0.006), ISUP grading group (P < 0.001), seminal vesicle invasion (P = 0.006), and PSA density (P = 0.002). Furthermore, the overexpression of DND1 indicates a poor clinical prognosis in prostate cancer patients. CONCLUSION: High-level expression of DND1 was associated with tumor progression and poor clinical prognosis. Hence, DND1 may become a potential prognostic biomarker for PCa.