High HIF-1α expression predicts poor prognosis of patients with colon adenocarcinoma.

Hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha subunit (HIF-1α) is induced in hypoxic conditions and plays a crucial role in the neoangiogenesis and metastasis of cancer. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the expression of HIF-1α in colon adenocarcinoma and to explore its clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis. A tissue microarray involving colon adenocarcinoma tissues and their corresponding paracancerous tissues from 92 patients was utilized to detect HIF-1α. The expression of HIF-1α in colon adenocarcinoma tissues was significantly higher than it was in the corresponding paracancerous tissues ( < 0.001). Furthermore, similar results were observed in HCT116 and RKO human colon adenocarcinoma xenografts in node mice ( < 0.05). Additionally, augmented HIF-1α expression was positively associated with TNM stage III-IV ( = 0.025), the presence of distant metastasis and vascular invasion ( = 0.048), and the presence of positive lymph nodes ( = 0.041). A Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that up-regulation of HIF-1α was associated with poor 5-year or 10-year survival ( < 0.05). A multivariable Cox regression analysis also found HIF-1α was an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in colon adenocarcinoma. Thus, targeting HIF-1α might be a viable strategy to treat patients with colon adenocarcinoma.