High expression of fibronectin 1 indicates poor prognosis in gastric cancer

Abstract

Fibronectin 1 (<i>FN1</i>) is involved in the occurrence and development of various tumors and is upregulated in multiple cancer types. <i>FN1</i> has been demonstrated to promote cell proliferation and migration in gastric cancer cell lines. However, the relationship between the expression of <i>FN1</i> and clinicopathological factors and prognosis is not clear in gastric cancer (GC). The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between <i>FN1</i> expression and clinicopathology and prognosis of gastric cancer. In this study, 17 publicly available GC cohorts (n=2,376) with gene expression data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Oncomine databases were tested. In addition, <i>FN1</i> protein expression was validated by immunohistochemistry in a separate cohort (n=190). The meta-analysis results demonstrated an increase in <i>FN1</i> expression at the protein and mRNA level in GC tissues, and the <i>FN1</i> gene was highly expressed at the mRNA level in the advanced T stage (T2 + T3 + T4) group compared with that in the early T stage (T1) group. In addition, the expression of epithelial <i>FN1</i> at the protein level was positively correlated with tumor size. <i>FN1</i> expression at the protein and mRNA level was a predictor of poor prognosis following radical resection of GC. In conclusion, the expression of <i>FN1</i> in GC tissues is upregulated compared with adjacent normal tissues, and it is a potential biomarker of poor prognosis in patients with GC.