RESULTS

Oxidative phosphorylation in colorectal cancer: roles of hexokinase 2 and phosphorylated pyruvate dehydrogenase-E1α in invasive front lesions (Cancer Science , 105, 1100-1108, 2014)

Although numerous studies have shown the significance of cancer-specific aerobic glycolysis, how glycolysis contributes to tumor invasion, a critical phenomenon in metastasis, remains unclear. In collaboration with the Department of Surgery, Osaka University, Hamabe et al. studied two critical gate enzymes, hexokinase 2 (HK2), which is involved in glycolysis, and phosphorylated pyruvate dehydrogenase-E1α (p-PDH), which is involved in oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) in colorectal cancer (CRC). The combined evaluation of positive HK2 and negative p-PDH was associated with reduced recurrence-free survival (RFS). This evaluation could predict RFS more precisely than the independent evaluation. The present study indicated that high HK2 expression combined with low p-PDH expression in the invasive front lesions of CRC tumors is predictive of tumor aggressiveness and survival of CRC cases.