Expression and clinical significance of KIF4A in clear-cell renal cell carcinoma

Objective To investigate the expression of kinesin family member 4A (KIF4A) in clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) tissues and its relationship with clinicopathological features and prognosis. Methods The expression of KIF4A in 145 cases ccRCC and 60 matched cases of normal renal tissues adjacent to ccRCC were detected by immunohistochemistry. The positive expression rate of KIF4A in ccRCC and normal renal tissues adjacent to ccRCC was compared, and the relationship between KIF4A expression and clinicopathological factors and prognosis of patients with ccRCC was also analyzed. Results The positive rate of KIF4A expression in ccRCC tissues was significantly higher than that in adjacent normal renal tissues (31.7% vs. 8.3%, P<0.01). The expression of KIF4A was correlated with tumor size, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and TNM stage (P<0.05), but not with gender, age and T stage (P>0.05). The Log-rank test of Kaplan- Meier survival analysis showed that the expression level of KIF4A, tumor size, T stage, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis and TNM stage were correlated with the total survival time of the patients (P<0.01). Cox regression analysis showed that the expression of KIF4A, distant metastasis and TNM stage were independent risk factors for the total survival time of patients with ccRCC. Conclusions The expression of KIF4A in ccRCC is significantly higher than that in adjacent normal renal tissues, and it is related to the occurrence and metastasis of ccRCC. KIF4A is expected to be a reference index to judge the prognosis of patients with ccRCC.