Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40940954›Full record

ArticleCancers2025

CK2α Overexpression in Colorectal Cancer: Evidence for Sex- and Age-Linked Differences.

Jana Romy Friedrich, Clara Meier, Guido Plotz, Stefan Zeuzem, Angela Brieger, Sarah J Overby

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cancers, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Jana Romy FriedrichBiomedical Research Laboratory, Medical Clinic 1, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.ORCID 0009-0005-9103-340X
Clara MeierBiomedical Research Laboratory, Medical Clinic 1, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.ORCID 0009-0009-0654-4360
Guido PlotzBiomedical Research Laboratory, Medical Clinic 1, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Stefan ZeuzemBiomedical Research Laboratory, Medical Clinic 1, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Angela BriegerBiomedical Research Laboratory, Medical Clinic 1, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-1089-9710
Sarah J OverbyBiomedical Research Laboratory, Medical Clinic 1, University Hospital, Goethe University Frankfurt, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-8195-9456

Funding

This research was supported by institutional funds of Goethe University Frankfurt, University Hospital.
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

objectivesColorectal cancer (CRC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related deaths, with notable sex-specific differences in its incidence, diagnosis, and outcomes. Our previous work identified casein kinase 2 alpha (CK2α) as being capable of impairing DNA mismatch repair (MMR) via phosphorylation of MLH1, thereby increasing the tumor mutational burden. This study aimed to investigate sex-specific differences in CK2α protein expression in CRC.

methodsImmunohistochemical (IHC) analysis was performed on 161 CRC tumors and adjacent normal tissues to quantify the CK2α protein levels. A multi-cohort meta-analysis of proteomic and clinical data was conducted to validate our findings and assess the correlations with age, sex, and relevant signaling pathways.

resultsFemale CRC patients exhibited significantly higher CK2α expression than male patients, which was confirmed in two independent cohorts. Additionally, CK2α expression was positively correlated with age in female but not male patients. Cross-cohort correlation analyses linked CK2α levels with key proteins involved in estrogen receptor signaling and aging, including DEAD-box helicase 5 (DDX5), histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), prohibitin-2 (PHB2), H/ACA ribonucleoprotein complex subunit 2 (NHP2), and dual-specificity mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 3 (MAP2K3).

conclusionsCK2α is significantly overexpressed in the tumor tissue of female CRC patients and shows a strong age-related correlation. These findings suggest a sex- and age-specific regulatory mechanism potentially influenced by estrogen signaling or menopause. Such dimorphisms underscore the need for sex-specific strategies in CRC biomarker development and therapy.

Indexed as

agecasein kinase 2 alphaCK2CK2αcolorectal cancerfemalesex

Identifiers

PMID40940954
PMCPMC12427210

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.