Identification of candidate biomarkers and prognostic analysis of recurrence in colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common digestive tract malignant tumors, which has a high mortality rate especially for patients with CRC recurrence. However, the pathological mechanism of recurrence of CRC is unclear. In this study, we integrated multiple cohort datasets and databases to clarify and verify potential key candidate biomarkers and signal transduction pathways in recurrence of CRC. As results, 628 DEGs were identified from GSE33113 and GSE2630 datasets and their function and pathway were analyzed. 14 hub genes related to CRC recurrence were screened from and their influence on survival were analyzed. Two key genes (IL1B and DDAH1) regarded as prognostic factors were further screened. Relapse-free survival results indicated the interaction between IL1B and DDAH1 genes and B cells was the most obvious and correlated with survival, with statistical significance (P <0.05). Specially, cox regression analysis suggested that patients with T1 and N0 stages had a higher risk of recurrence than patients with T2 and N1. This work would provide potential value for prognosis, and would promote molecular targeting therapy for CRC recurrence.