Background: Special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 2 (SATB2) is a novel diagnostic marker of colorectal cancer (CRC), and loss of SATB2 has been linked to poor survival from the disease. In this study, we validated the prognostic ability of SATB2 expression in a large, prospective CRC cohort.
Methods: Immunohistochemical SATB2 expression was assessed in 527 incident CRC cases from the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study. Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards modelling were used to explore the impact of SATB2 expression on cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS).
Results: High SATB2 expression was associated with a prolonged CSS in the full cohort (hazard ratio (HR)=0.61; 95% CI 0.41-0.92) and in colon cancer (HR=0.39; 95% CI 0.20-0.75), remaining significant in multivariable analysis of colon cancer (HR=0.49; 95% CI 0.25-0.96), with similar findings for OS. In curatively resected stage III-IV patients, a significant benefit from adjuvant and/or neoadjuvant therapy was observed for SATB2 high tumours (P(interaction)=0.037 for OS) and high SATB2 expression in rectal cancer correlated with an enhanced effect of neoadjuvant therapy (P(interaction)=0.033 for OS).
Conclusion: High SATB2 expression is an independent marker of good prognosis in colon cancer and may modulate sensitivity to chemotherapy and radiation.