Abstract
Colorectal Cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. However, the lack of proper knowledge on CRC development and prognosis, lately diagnosis, and the unavailability of effective treatment methods often lead to inefficient preventive intervention. Here, the prognostic value of SRY-Box Transcription Factor 9 (SOX9) was examined with different bioinformatics tools in CRC samples in order to develop this gene and its products as a diagnostic marker and therapeutic target for colon cancer. Primarily, this gene was shown to be upregulated (log2 FC>4) in different CRC tissues compared to normal samples. The immunohistochemistry observation between cancerous and normal colon tissues also revealed higher levels of SOX9 protein (more intensified staining) in CRC samples than in normal specimens. A total of 244 driver mutations and 49 variants of unknown significance (VUS) were observed within the coding region of SOX9 across different CRC studies. Moreover, the hypomethylated promoter of this gene was found to be associated with its high expression and abnormal clinical outcomes. Furthermore, the higher level of SOX9 expression was also linked to a lower patient survival rate (HR>~1). Finally, gene co-expression analysis reported that RACGAP1, known for its negative role in CRC, is highly co-expressed with SOX9 in different CRC samples. Altogether, this study exerts that SOX9 could be adopted to capture the prognosis of CRC. However, further laboratory experiments are required to signify the findings of the present study clinically.