Pan-cancer analysis of BLM as a prognostic and immunological marker in human tumors

Abstract

BackgroundBloom syndrome helicase (BLM) is critical for DNA replication, repair, transcription, telomere maintenance and other cellular metabolic processes. Studies reported that BLM is closely related to the development of some types of tumors, however there is no pan-cancer analysis of BLM. ResultsBLM was over-expressed in almost all types of cancers and associated with overall survival and disease-free survival in multiple cancers . We found a stage-specific expression of BLM among them. A correlation of BLM expression with the estimated infiltration value of cancer-associated fibroblasts, endothelial cells, immunostimulator, and immunoinhibitor was discovered in part types of cancers. Finally, we found that BLM was associated with cell cycle, p53 signaling pathway, and other mechanisms. ConclusionOur study provided a relatively comprehensive understanding of BLM as an oncogene and predictor of prognosis in various tumor types. MethodsWe analyzed data from TCGA (The cancer genome atlas), GEO (Gene expression omnibus), and GTEx databases by using bioinformatic tools, to evaluate the expression difference, prognostic value, genetic alterations, immune infiltrates, and biological functions of BLM in 33 types of cancers.