Prognostic Significance of Methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3), Procollagen-lysine 2-oxoglutarate 5-dioxygenase 2 (PLOD2), and Epithelial Cadherin (E-Cadherin) expression in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma: An Immunohistochemical study

Background: The most prevalent type of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is clear cell RCC (ccRCC) representing 70% of RCC. Methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) is critical for carcinogenesis and cancer progression. Procollagen-lysine 2-oxoglutarate 5-dioxygenase 2 (PLOD2) enhances collagen cross-linking and increases collagen stability. Epithelial Cadherin (E-cadherin) controls the actin cytoskeleton to preserve epithelial cell integrity.Aim: To demonstrate significance of METTL3, PLOD2 and E-cadherin IHC expression in ccRCC and their expressions were correlated with clinicopathological data & survival of the studied cases to find their potential prognostic role.Material and methods: This retrospective research was carried upon 50 cases of ccRCC immunohistochemically stained with METTL3, PLOD2 and E-Cadherin & the results were correlated with different clinicopathological variables and patients’ survival.Results: High METTL3 and positive E-cadherin were significantly related to younger patients’ age, small tumors < 7 cm, lower histologic grade, early tumor (T) stages, absence of regional lymph nodes and lower American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage, better overall and progression-free survival (P<0.05 each). While high PLOD2 expression was significantly related to large tumors ≥7 cm, high grade, advanced T stage, presence of regional lymph node & distant metastasis, higher AJCC stage and worse survival outcomes (P<0.05 each). An inverse relationship was found between METTL3 and PLOD2 while METTL3 was positively related to E-cadherin.Conclusion: METTL3, PLOD2 and E-cadherin expression may be prognostic indicators of ccRCC and could predict patients’ survival. Further researches are recommended to declare prognostic significance of these biomarkers providing new insights and treatment modalities of ccRCC.