Objective To analyze the serum levels of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 autoantibodies (APE1-AAbs) and growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) and their predictive value for postoperative recurrence and metastasis in patients with colorectal cancer.

Methods Fifty-two patients with colorectal cancer were selected as observation group, and were divided into postoperative recurrence and metastasis group (n=15) and non-recurrence and metastasis group (n=37) according to prognosis. Fifty-two healthy individuals undergoing routine physical examination during the same period were selected as the control group. The levels of APE1-AAbs and GDF-15 were measured. Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlations of APE1-AAbs, GDF-15 with post-surgical recurrence and metastasis of colorectal cancer. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the predictive value of APE1-AAbs and GDF-15 for post-surgical recurrence and metastasis of colorectal cancer.

Results The levels of APE1-AAbs and GDF-15 in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The levels of APE1-AAbs and GDF-15 in the postoperative recurrence and metastasis group were significantly higher than those in the non-recurrence and metastasis group (P < 0.05). There was a positive correlation between the levels of APE1-AAbs, GDF-15 and post-surgical recurrence and metastasis of colorectal cancer (P < 0.05). The combined use of APE1-AAbs and GDF-15 had higher predictive value for post-surgical recurrence and metastasis of colorectal cancer than either single prediction (P < 0.05).

Conclusion APE1-AAbs and GDF-15 are highly expressed in the serum of colorectal cancer patients. APE1-AAbs and GDF-15 may serve as markers for post-surgical recurrence and metastasis of colorectal cancer.