Validity and clinical impact of glucose transporter 1 expression in colorectal cancer

Abstract

Background/Aim:There is no doubt that colorectal cancer (CRC) poses a major threat to public health worldwide, and despite improvement in managements, prognosis still remains an irritating question with no definite answer. Being a fundamental player in cancer metabolism, glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) could be utilized as a prognostic biomarker that could fuel development of new treatment strategies. The aim of this study was to assess the validity of GLUT1 expression as a prognostic biomarker and to elucidate to what extent it is immersed in poor clinical outcome among CRC patients.Patients and Methods:GLUT1 expression in peripheral blood specimens was analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in 47 CRC patients and 20 healthy controls.Results:There was significantly elevated GLUT1 expression in peripheral blood of CRC patients than in controls (P < 0.001). The cutoff value of 0.605 provided 98% sensitivity and 100% specificity. There were significantly higher values of GLUT1 expression in patients under 50 years (P = 0.003), performance status 2 (P = 0.009), stage IV (P < 0.001), and presence of metastasis (P < 0.001). GLUT1 expression showed nonsignificant association with overall survival (P = 0.068), while tumor stage (P = 0.01) and metastasis (P = 0.009) were significantly associated with lower overall survival.Conclusion:GLUT1 is sensitive and specific marker for CRC. It is overexpressed in young age patients, poor performance status, and stage IV patients. Although this was not statistically significant, GLUT 1 showed higher expression level in patients with lesser survival.

LAT-1 and GLUT-1 Carrier Expression and Its Prognostic Value in Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

“…Regarding GLUT-1, previous studies have reported several associations between GLUT-1 expression, tumor aggressiveness, and poor prognosis in other malignant neoplasms, including colorectal cancer, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, lung cancer, prostate cancer, and [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ]. One explanation is the increased utilization of energy and faster cell growth that indirectly promote metastatic behavior.…”