Objective: The objective is to study the correlation between the expression of ubiquitin-like modifier-activating enzyme 2 (UBA2) and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in gastric cancer tissues. Methods: Gastric cancer tissue specimens originated from 220 patients undergoing gastric cancer resection from March 2013 to June 2014 in the hospitals department of gastroenterology. At the same time, 56 cases of normal adjacent tissues were collected in the hospitals pathology department. The expression level of UBA2 in gastric cancer tissues and adjacent tissues was determined using the chemical method, and the relationship between UBA2 and clinicopathological characteristics and the prognosis of gastric cancer was analyzed simultaneously. Results: The positive expression rate of UBA2 in gastric cancer tissues was 67.27% (148/220), and in the adjacent tissues, the rate was 19.64% (11/56). The difference in the positive expression rate between the groups was statistically significant (P<.05). The UBA2 expression level was not correlated with age, sex, tumor diameter, differentiation degree, or the Lauren stage of patients with gastric cancer (P>.05) but was correlated with lymph node metastasis, serous membrane infiltration, and TNM stage (P<.05). The 5-year survival rate in the UBA2 positive expression group was 20.95% (31/148) and was 38.89% (28/72) in the UBA2 negative expression group. The difference in the 5-year survival rate between the groups was statistically significant (P<.05). Through single-factor analysis, lymph node metastasis, serous membrane infiltration, TNM stage, and UBA2 expression were found to affect the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer. Through multivariate analysis, lymph node metastasis, TNM stage, and UBA2 expression were found to independently affect the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer. Conclusion: The UBA2 was highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues, which was related to the poor prognosis of patients with gastric cancer and might be a key factor in the progression of gastric cancer.

Correlation between the expression of ubiquitin-like modifier-activating enzyme 2 and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in gastric cancer tissues