Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is notable for its high incidence rates in select geographic and ethnic populations, especially among Chinese and Malay populations in Southeastern Asia. However, relevant biomarkers for the development and prognosis of NPC are not yet clear; therefore, discovering novel biomarkers will facilitate prediction of prognosis and development of targeted therapeutic tactics. This study aims to quest the potential prognostic value of NUAK1 (a downstream member of Akt) in NPC.
Methods: Immunohistochemistry was performed to measure the expression of NUAK1 in paraffin-embedded NPC samples. Statistical analysis, encompassing chi-square tests and Student's t test, was also employed to evaluate the association between the expression of NUAK1 and clinicopathologic features. In addition, the survival analysis was used to detect the prognostic significance of NUAK1 in NPC.
Results: Excessive expression of NUAK1 was found in NPC tissues at mRNA levels. Statistical analysis revealed a correlation of NUAK1 expression with maximum neck lymph node diameter (p = 0.025) and WHO histological type (p = 0.021). Furthermore, according to survival analysis, there was clinical relevance between the upregulation of NUAK1 in NPC and DFS. Subgroup analysis indicated that the expression of NUAK1 was strongly associated with DFS (p = 0.027) and OS (p = 0.026) duration in the patients of N1-3 tumors, but not in patients with N0 tumors. The expression of NUAK1 was also strongly associated with OS (p = 0.044) and DFS (p = 0.007) in patients of late stage tumour (UICC3-5), but not in patients of early stage tumour (UICC1-2). In addition, COX regression illustrated that N classification and NUAK1 expression were independent prognostic factors for disease-free survival.
Conclusion: Our study postulated that NUAK1 is excessively expressed in NPC and may serve as a potential predictor of prognosis for NPC.
Keywords: NUAK1; Nasopharyngeal carcinoma; Prognosis.