Expression of CDK13 Was Associated with Prognosis and Expression of HIF-1α and beclin1 in Breast Cancer Patients

Objective To investigate role and clinical significance of CDK13 in breast cancer patients. Methods A total of 189 cases of breast cancer were enrolled during March 2017-March 2019. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used for measurement of CDK13, HIF-1 alpha and beclin1. Clinical characteristics of age, BMI, TNM stage, pathological types, and tumor diameter, were recorded. Patients' 5-year overall survival and recurrence were followed up. All patients were followed up for 5 years or to the last follow-up. Results The expression levels of CDK13, HIF-1 alpha and beclin1 in breast cancer tissues were up-regulated than in the paracancerous non-tumor tissues. CDK13 was positively correlated with HIF-1 alpha and negatively correlated with beclin1 in breast cancer tissues. The patients with higher expression of CDK13 showed significantly higher rates of TNM III-IV, higher rates of lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and larger tumor size. The mortality and recurrence rates were higher in high expression CDK13 patients than in low CDK13 expression patients, however with no significant difference. K-M curve showed patients with higher CDK13 showed lower 5-year overall survival and lower disease-free survival time, however with no significant difference. Conclusion CDK13 was overexpressed in breast cancer tissues, and patients with higher CDK13 had poorer clinical outcomes. Further studies are still needed to reveal the clinical significance of CDK13 in breast cancer.

Automated summary

This study investigated the role and clinical significance of CDK13 in breast cancer patients. The results showed that CDK13 was overexpressed in breast cancer tissues and was associated with clinical characteristics and prognosis of the patients.