Abstract：
Inhibin subunit βA (INHBA) is a protein-coding gene belonging to the transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) superfamily, which is associated with the development of a variety of cancers. However, the role of INHBA in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) remains unclear. The expression profile and prognostic significance of INHBA in HNSC were assessed using a variety of informatics methods. The level of INHBA expression was significantly higher in patients with HNSC, and it was correlated with sex, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, histological grade, and human papillomavirus (HPV) status. Kaplan-Meier (K-M) analysis indicated that poor overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were significantly associated with INHBA upregulation in HNSC. INHBA overexpression was validated as an independent poor prognostic factor by multivariate Cox regression, and including INHBA expression level in the prognostic model could increase prediction accuracy. In addition, copy number alterations (CNAs) of INHBA and miR-217-5p downregulation are potential mechanisms for elevated INHBA expression in HNSC. In conclusion, INHBA may represent a promising predictive biomarker and candidate target for anti-TGFβ therapy in HNSC.
摘要：
抑制素亚基βA（INHBA）是一种蛋白质编码基因，属于转化生长因子β（TGFβ）超家族，这与多种癌症的发展有关。然而,INHBA在头颈部鳞状细胞癌(HNSC)中的作用尚不清楚.使用多种信息学方法评估HNSC中INHBA的表达谱和预后意义。HNSC患者的INHBA表达程度显著增高，它与性别有关，肿瘤淋巴结转移(TNM)分期,组织学分级,和人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）状态。Kaplan-Meier（K-M）分析表明，总体生存率（OS）和无病生存率（DFS）差与HNSC的INHBA上调显着相关。多变量Cox回归证实INHBA过度表达是一个独立的不良预后因素，将INHBA表达水平纳入预后模型可提高预测准确性。此外,INHBA的拷贝数改变(CNAs)和miR-217-5p下调是HNSC中INHBA表达升高的潜在机制.总之,INHBA可能代表HNSC中抗TGFβ治疗的有希望的预测性生物标志物和候选靶标。
