{
  "abstract": "Claudin 18, a tight junction protein, has emerged as a therapeutic target in various gastrointestinal cancers, notably gastric adenocarcinoma. However, its prevalence and clinicopathological significance in colorectal cancer (CRC) remain incompletely understood. In the current single-center, retrospective, immunohistochemical study, the prevalence and prognostic value of Claudin-18 was investigated in CRC. Claudin-18 expression was detected in 15.9% (17/107) of CRC cases, with negative/weak expression in 84.1% (90/107). No significant associations were observed between Claudin-18 expression and age, sex, tumor site, T stage, lymph node status, distant metastasis, TNM stage, histological subtype, or lymphovascular invasion (all p > 0.05). No significant associations were identified between Claudin-18 expression and age, sex, tumor location, histological subtype, or TNM stage. Furthermore, Claudin-18 expression independently predicted survival outcomes in CRC where Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated significantly worse overall survival (OS) in patients with strong/moderate Claudin-18 expression compared with Claudin-18 -negative/weak expression (log rank test, p = 0.024). Mean OS was markedly longer in Claudin-18 -negative/weak expression group (121.0 vs.76.6 months). Progression-free survival (PFS) analysis demonstrated a trend toward poorer outcomes among patients with increased Claudin-18 expression; however, the difference did not reach statistical significance (log-rank test, p = 0.066). Event-free survival (EFS) was also significantly reduced in patients with strong/moderate Claudin-18 expression (log-rank test, p = 0.022). Mean EFS was markedly longer in CLDN18 negative/weak expression (93.1 vs. 31.1 months). Multivariable binary logistic regression showed that the overall model was statistically significant (χ2(7) = 22.657, p = 0.002). However, none of the evaluated variables—including gender, age, lymphovascular invasion, tumor laterality, TNM stage, MSI status, histological type, and Claudin-18 expression—was independently associated with the outcome (all p > .05). Claudin-18 expression was not a significant predictor in the adjusted model (p = 0.931; OR = 0.63). In conclusion, despite its low prevalence in the current cohort, Claudin-18 expression was associated with poorer overall survival; however, its independent prognostic value was not established.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Biopharmaceutics and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan",
    "Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Allied Medical Sciences, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan",
    "Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, Jordan",
    "Institute of Cancer Therapeutics, Faculty of Health and Social Care, University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom",
    "Faculty of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
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  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
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        0
      ],
      "name": "Aya Y. Al-Kabariti"
    },
    {
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        1
      ],
      "name": "Manal A. Abbas"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Maxim Alashhab"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Sneha Smarakan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Maher A. Sughayer"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e92mgd93pecn0.bib",
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  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0360740",
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  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
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  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
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  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2730|Colorectal Cancer Treatments and Studies"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Anatomy/Digestive system/Gastrointestinal tract/Colon"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Anatomy/Histology"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Anatomy/Digestive system/Gastrointestinal tract/Colon"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Anatomy/Histology"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Oncology/Basic cancer research/Metastasis"
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    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Oncology/Cancers and neoplasms/Carcinoma/Adenocarcinoma"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Oncology/Cancers and neoplasms/Colorectal cancer"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Oncology/Cancers and neoplasms/Gastrointestinal tumors/Gastric cancer"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Oncology/Cancers and neoplasms/Lung and intrathoracic tumors"
    ],
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      "plos",
      "/Medicine and health sciences/Oncology/Metastasis"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Research and analysis methods/Specimen preparation and treatment/Staining/Membrane staining"
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  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0360740&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-26",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e92mgd93pecn0.ris",
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    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z",
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  "subjects": [
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      "subfield": "oncology"
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    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "plos:anatomy",
      "subfield": "physiology"
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  "title": "Claudin-18 expression is associated with poorer overall survival in colorectal cancer",
  "title_text": "Claudin-18 expression is associated with poorer overall survival in colorectal cancer",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e92mgd93pecn0",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
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}