Cancer Res Treat.  2021 Jul;53(3):650-656. 10.4143/crt.2020.950.

Genetic Susceptibility of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in Six Common Cancers and Possible Impacts on COVID-19

• Hoang T
• Nguyen TQ
• Tran TTA

• KMID: 2518388
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2020.950

Abstract

Purpose
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread worldwide rapidly and patients with cancer have been considered as a vulnerable group for this infection. This study aimed to examine the expressions of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) in tumor tissues of six common cancer types.
Materials and Methods
The expression levels of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in tumors and control samples were obtained from online databases. Survival prognosis and biological functions of these genes were investigated for each tumor type.
Results
There was the overexpression of ACE2 in colon and stomach adenocarcinomas compared to controls, meanwhile colon and prostate adenocarcinomas showed a significantly higher expression of TMPRSS2. Additionally, survival prognosis analysis has demonstrated that upregulation of ACE2 in liver hepatocellular carcinoma was associated with higher overall survival (hazard ratio, 0.65; p=0.016) and disease-free survival (hazard ratio, 0.66; p=0.007), while overexpression of TMPRSS2 was associated with a 26% reduced risk of death in lung adenocarcinoma (p=0.047) but 50% increased risk of death in breast invasive carcinoma (p=0.015).
Conclusion
There is a need to take extra precautions for COVID-19 in patients with colorectal cancer, stomach cancer, and lung cancer. Further information on other types of cancer at different stages should be investigated.

Keyword

COVID-19; Neoplasms; Gene expression; Prognosis; Pathway

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Comparison of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression between tumors and control. ACE2, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2; BRCA, breast invasive carcinoma; COAD, colon adenocarcinoma; LIHC, liver hepatocellular carcinoma; LUAD, lung adenocarcinoma; PRAD, prostate adenocarcinoma; STAD, stomach adenocarcinoma; TMPRSS2, transmembrane serine protease 2.

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  Fig. 2 Top 10 KEGG pathways of ACE2 and top 100 similar genes in different tumors. ACE2, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2; AMPK, AMP-activated protein kinase; BRCA, breast invasive carcinoma; COAD, colon adenocarcinoma; KEGG, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes; LIHC, liver hepatocellular carcinoma; LUAD, lung adenocarcinoma; PPAR, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor; PRAD, prostate adenocarcinoma; STAD, stomach adenocarcinoma.

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  Fig. 3 Top 10 pathways of TMPRSS2 and top 100 similar genes in different tumors. BRCA, breast invasive carcinoma; COAD, colon adenocarcinoma; LIHC, liver hepatocellular carcinoma; LUAD, lung adenocarcinoma; PRAD, prostate adenocarcinoma; STAD, stomach adenocarcinoma; TMPRSS2, transmembrane serine protease 2.

Reference

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