Panel Biomarkers Associated with Cancer Invasion and Prognostic Prediction for Head–Neck Cancer

Abstract

Aim: Cell invasion leading to metastasis is a major cause of treatment failure in head–neck cancers (HNCs). Identifying prognostic molecules associated with invasiveness is imperative for clinical applications. Materials & methods: A systemic approach was used to globally survey invasion-related genes, including transcriptomic profiling, pathway analysis, data mining and prognostic assessment using TCGA-HNSC dataset. Results: Six functional pathways and six hub molecules (LAMA3, LAMC2, THBS1, IGF1R, PDGFB and TGFβ1) were identified that significantly contributed to cell invasion, leading to poor survival in HNC patients. Combinations of multiple biomarkers substantially increased the probability of accurately predicting prognosis. Conclusion: Our six defined invasion-related molecules may be used as a panel signature in precision medicine for prognostic indicators or molecular therapeutic targets for HNC.

Basement membrane-associated gene expression as a predictor of survival in oral cancer

“…and neck cancer (HNC), the invasion-associated molecules LAMA3, LAMC2, THBS1, IGF1R, PDGFB, and transforming growth factor β1 can serve as prognostic indicators or molecular therapeutic targets to improve the survival rates of HNC. These related molecular pathways may offer new strategies for further therapeutic applications [26]. The induction of LAMA3 in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas is influenced by hypoxia, and the splice variant LAMA3-A, whose differential expression is associated with tumor hypoxia, cannot be induced by hypoxia independently, but the exact pathways involved in the expression of this transcript are not yet clear [27].…”