Please cite this article in press as: Yang Z, et al. High expression of Beclin-1 predicts favorable prognosis for patients with colorectal cancer. Clin Res Hepatol Gastroenterol (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clinre.2014.06.014 ARTICLE IN PRESS +Model CLINRE-624; No. of Pages 9 Clinics and Research in Hepatology and Gastroenterology (2014) xxx, xxx—xxx Available online at ScienceDirect www.sciencedirect.com ORIGINAL ARTICLE High expression of Beclin-1 predicts favorable prognosis for patients with colorectal cancer Zuli Yang a,1 , Roshan Ara Ghoorun a,1 , Xinjuan Fan b , Peihuang Wu b , Yang Bai a , Jizheng Li a , Hao Chen a , Lei Wang c , Jianping Wang c,* a Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University (Guangdong Gastrointestinal and Anal Hospital), Sun Yat-Sen University Guangzhou, Guangzhou, PR China b Gastrointestinal Institute, Sun Yat-Sen University Guangzhou, Guangzhou, PR China c Department of Colon & Rectum Surgery, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University (Guangdong Gastrointestinal and Anal Hospital), Sun Yat-Sen University Guangzhou, 26 Yuancun Erheng road, 510655 Guangzhou, PR China Summary Purpose: Beclin-1 is an autophagy gene. It promotes the formation of the autophagic vesicle as well as plays an essential role in guarding the cells against chromosomal instability. Over- expression of Beclin-1 has been reported to predict a favorable survival in various cancers. However, little is known about its prognostic significance in colorectal cancer. Methods and materials: A total of three hundred and sixty-three (363) colorectal tissues from colorectal cancer (CRC) patients were collected. Tissue micro-arrays and immunohistochem- istry were used to investigate the expression and prognostic significance of Beclin-1 in CRC. The associations among Beclin-1 expression, clinicopathological parameters and prognosis were evaluated. Results: Beclin-1 had a higher expression in CRC tissues than in normal tissues. A high expression of Beclin-1 was positively correlated with gender (P = 0.027), histological grade (P = 0.003), pM status (P = 0.003) and clinical stage (P = 0.024). Patients with a high Beclin-1 expression, when compared to those with a lower expression had both a better overall survival (OS, P = 0.006) and disease-free survival (DFS, P = 0.008). In the pT3 subgroup, Beclin-1 was also found to be a good prognostic indicator (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed a high expression of Beclin-1 was indeed a positive independent prognostic factor of OS and DFS for CRC patients (P < 0.05). ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 20 38254020; fax: +86 20 38254221. E-mail address: wangjply01@sohu.com (J. Wang). 1 These authors contributed equally to this work. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clinre.2014.06.014 2210-7401/© 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.