The tumor suppressor characteristics of cyclin‑dependent kinase 10 (CDK10) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma and breast cancer have been previously demonstrated. In the present study the expression status of CDK10 and its prognostic significance in gastric cancer was determined, as well as its role in cell proliferation and invasion. Immunoblot analysis revealed that CDK10 protein expression was notably decreased in gastric cancer compared with normal tissues. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that the loss of CDK10 expression, which was observed in 50.8% of primary gastric cancer tissues (n=128), significantly correlated with advanced tumor stage (P<0.001), frequent lymph node metastasis (P<0.001), distant metastasis (P=0.013), tumor differentiation (P=0.004) and unfavorable overall survival (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis suggested that CDK10 expression may serve as an independent prognostic predictor (P=0.001) for the progression of gastric cancer. In addition, ectopic CDK10 expression inhibited gastric cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion, while knockdown of CDK10 promoted these phenotypes. Collectively, the results of the present study indicated that CDK10 expression may serve as a novel prognostic biomarker that holds therapeutic promise for gastric cancer.
Keywords: cyclin-dependent kinase 10; gastric cancer; immunohistochemistry; prognosis.