Analysis of METTL14 expression in pancreatic cancer and adjacent tissues and its prognostic value for patient outcomes

This study aims to analyze the differential expression of METTL14 in pancreatic cancer (PC) tissues and adjacent normal tissues, and its correlation with clinical outcomes. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 80 patients diagnosed in our hospital from January 2021 to January 2023 were chosen as research subjects. RTQ-PCR has detected the mRNA level expression of METTL14 in cancer and para-cancerous tissues. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the protein expression of METTL14 in cancer and para-cancerous tissues. To compare the relationship between METTL14 expression and clinicopathological parameters in different PC patients. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis of the relationship between METTL14 expression in PC tissues and patient survival prognosis. The Multifactor COX model evaluates factors affecting the prognosis of PC. The expression level of METTL14 mRNA in PC tissues was 5.51 ± 0.35 (kDa), and the positive rate of METTL14 protein expression in PC tissues of all patients was 73.75 (59/80). Tumor location (P = 0.012), tumor differentiation degree (P = 0.028), tumor AJCC stage (P = 0.000), and lymph node metastasis (P = 0.000) were significantly related to the positive rate of METTL14 protein expression in PC tissue. Follow-up results showed that among 80 patients, 63 died. The three-year survival rate of the METTL14 positive group was 13.56% (8/59), and the three-year survival rate of the negative group was 42.86% (9/21). The difference in the three-year survival rate between METTL14 positive and negative expression groups was statistically significant (P = 0.031). Multivariate COX regression analysis results showed that METTL14 was positive (OR 2.797, 95% CI 1.233-5.877), tumor AJCC stage II-III (OR 1.628, 95% CI 1.435-3.859) and lymph node metastasis (OR 1.733, 95% CI 1.122-2.372) were substantive risk factors for poor prognosis in patients with PC. METTL14 expression increases in PC tissue, which is related to tumor AJCC stage, tumor differentiation, and lymph node metastasis, and can be evaluated in the survival prognosis of patients with PC.