CPXM1: a novel biomarker for gastric cancer prognosis

Background: The molecular role of carboxypeptidase X, M14 family member (CPXM1) in oncogenesis or tumor progression remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether CPXM1 can be used as a potential prognostic biomarker for gastric cancer (GC). Methods We first demonstrated the relationship between CPXM1 expression and GC in various public databases. Secondly, the expression of CPXM1 in GC tissues was further verified by immunohistochemical staining using tissue microarray containing 96 cases of GC patients. Kaplan–Meier analysis and a Cox proportional hazard regression model were performed to evaluate the relationship between the expression of CPXM1 and the survival of GC patients. Finally, we used the expression data of CPXM1 in The Cancer Genome Atlas database to predict CPXM1-related signaling pathways through bioinformatics analysis. Results The expression level of CPXM1 in GC tissues was significantly correlated with tumor size ( p  = 0.041) and lymph node metastasis ( p  = 0.014). In addition, Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that the expression of CPXM1 in GC tissues was significantly associated with poor prognosis ( p  = 0.011). Multivariate analysis indicated that CPXM1 is a potential predictor of poor prognosis in GC patients ( p  = 0.026). The results of biosynthesis analysis demonstrated that the data set of CPXM1 high expression was mainly enriched in cancer-related signal pathways. Conclusion CPXM1 is an effective biomarker for the prognosis of GC patients and may play a key role in the occurrence and progression of GC.