High expression of Beclin-1 predicts favorable prognosis for patients with colorectal cancer

Beclin-1 is an autophagy gene. It promotes the formation of the autophagic vesicle as well as plays an essential role in guarding the cells against chromosomal instability. Overexpression of Beclin-1 has been reported to predict a favorable survival in various cancers. However, little is known about its prognostic significance in colorectal cancer. A total of three hundred and sixty-three (363) colorectal tissues from colorectal cancer (CRC) patients were collected. Tissue micro-arrays and immunohistochemistry were used to investigate the expression and prognostic significance of Beclin-1 in CRC. The associations among Beclin-1 expression, clinicopathological parameters and prognosis were evaluated. Beclin-1 had a higher expression in CRC tissues than in normal tissues. A high expression of Beclin-1 was positively correlated with gender (P = 0.027), histological grade (P = 0.003), pM status (P = 0.003) and clinical stage (P = 0.024). Patients with a high Beclin-1 expression, when compared to those with a lower expression had both a better overall survival (OS, P = 0.006) and disease-free survival (DFS, P = 0.008). In the pT3 subgroup, Beclin-1 was also found to be a good prognostic indicator (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed a high expression of Beclin-1 was indeed a positive independent prognostic factor of OS and DFS for CRC patients (P < 0.05). Our results demonstrated that a high expression of Beclin-1 correlated with a better overall survival and disease-free survival, thus serving as a favorable independent prognostic marker in CRC.