TOM1L2 as a Potential Regulator of Tumor Progression in Brain and Colorectal Cancers

TOM1-like protein 2 (TOM1L2) is an adaptor protein that is associated with vesicular transport and endosomal transport that is essential in maintaining cellular signaling and homeostasis. Despite the possibility of TOM1L2 to be involved in a regulation role in the intracellular transport pathways, the relationship between TOM1L2 and cancer development and progression is not well understood. The aim of the current study was to analyze the trends and clinical significance of tumor TOM1L2 expression in multiple cancers with particular focus on tumors of the brain/central nervous system (CNS) and bowel. Initially, tumor-normal expression comparisons were studied to reveal the pattern of differentiation expression of TOM1L2. This was followed by an all-inclusive pan-cancer examination comparing the degree of gene expression, genetic changes, Oncoprint, and survival studies in different tumor categories. Consequently, the Brain/CNS and bowel-related malignancies were investigated in detail to investigate the expression, mutation and the potential prognostic value of TOM1L2 in these cancers. The results demonstrated variable, although significant changes in TOM1L2 expression in various types of cancers, and a different pattern was observed in the cases of some CNS and colorectal tumors. Survival analyses suggested possible trends between TOM1L2 genetic alteration status and patient outcomes in selected cancer types; however, these associations require further experimental validation Altogether, this paper demonstrates that TOM1L2 could be one of the biomarkers in cancer biology and offers a background of new experimental and clinical research to better understand its application and a therapeutic target in cancer development.