BMP Signaling Is a Prognostic Marker in Patients With Colorectal Cancer and Associates With Frailty.

Background/aim: Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are members of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily of ligands and have been shown to promote or suppress colorectal cancer (CRC) growth. Developing treatments that target BMPs is challenging due to their multiple roles, including involvement in the inflammatory response and nutritional status. The present study evaluated the prognostic value of BMP-4, which is believed to be highly expressed in CRC, and its correlation with inflammatory and nutrition statuses in patients with CRC.

Materials and methods: We analyzed BMP-4 expression in tumor tissues from 144 patients who underwent CRC surgery using immunohistochemistry and evaluated the relationship between BMP-4 levels and clinical outcomes.

Results: Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that patients with high expression levels of BMP-4 exhibited a shorter overall survival rate than those with low levels of expression. Multivariate analysis revealed that BMP-4 expression was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival and death from other diseases in CRC patients. Furthermore, high BMP-4 expression was significantly correlated with high C-reactive protein/Albumin ratio, sarcopenia, and osteopenia.

Conclusion: BMP-4 is a significant prognostic factor in CRC, particularly in predicting death from other diseases, while also showing associations with inflammatory and nutritional statuses.