A robust six‐miRNA prognostic signature for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Issue 11 (28th April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhao, Xinyuan; Cui, Li
• Is Part Of: Journal of cellular physiology. Volume 235:Issue 11(2020:Nov.)
• Page Start: 8799
• Page End: 8811
• Publication Date: 2020-04-28
• Subjects: head and neck squamous cell carcinoma -- miRNAs -- prognostic signature -- survival analysis -- The Cancer Genome Atlas; Physiology -- Periodicals; Cell physiology -- Periodicals; 571.6
• DOI: 10.1002/jcp.29723
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0021-9541

Abstract

Abstract: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains a major health problem worldwide. We aimed to identify a robust microRNA (miRNA)‐based signature for predicting HNSCC prognosis. The miRNA expression profiles of HNSCC were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The TCGA HNSCC cohort was randomly divided into the discovery and validation cohort. A miRNA‐based prognostic signature was built up based on TGCA discovery cohort, and then further validated. The downstream targets of prognostic miRNAs were subjected to functional enrichment analyses. The role of miR‐1229‐3p, a prognosis‐related miRNA, in tumorigenesis of HNSCC was further evaluated. A total of 305 significantly differentially expressed miRNAs were found between HNSCC samples and normal tissues. A six‐miRNA prognostic signature was constructed, which exhibited a strong association with overall survival (OS) in the TCGA discovery cohort. In addition, these findings were successfully confirmed in TCGA validation cohort and our own independent cohort. The miRNA‐based signature was demonstrated as an independent prognostic indicator for HNSCC. A risk signature‐based nomogram model was constructed and showed good performance for predicting the OS for HNSCC. The functional analyses revealed that the downstream targets of these prognostic miRNAs were closely linked to cancer progression. Mechanistically, in vitro analysis revealed that miR‐1229‐3p played a tumor promoting role in HNSCC. In conclusion, our study has developed a robust miRNA‐based signature for predicting the prognosis of HNSCC with high accuracy, which will contribute to improve the therapeutic outcome. Abstract : (1) Our study has developed a robust microRNA (miRNA)‐based signature for predicting the prognosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with high accuracy, which will contribute to improve the therapeutic outcome. (2) Functional studies have demonstrated that miR‐1229‐3p plays a tumor‐promoting role in HNSCC