Role of APLP2 in the prognosis and clinicopathology of renal cell carcinoma

Identifying diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers is crucial for improved guidance of the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Amyloid precursor-like protein 2 (APLP2) has been determined to serve an important role in the progression of a number of cancer types. However, the expression and significance of APLP2 in RCC remains unknown. In the present study, it was determined that the expression of APLP2 protein (n=10) and mRNA (n=8) expression was significantly decreased in clear cell RCC (CCRCC) tissues compared with that in matched normal renal tissues. The expression level of APLP2 was significantly associated with high Fuhrman grade, high pT stage, and presence of distant metastasis and lymph node metastasis (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the expression of APLP2 was a significant independent predictor of disease-specific survival in renal cell carcinoma (P=0.026). Notably, APLP2 expression was significantly associated with disease-specific survival (P<0.001). APLP2 may be used to potentially predict patient prognosis, and to guide clinical diagnosis and treatment in CCRCC.