Aberrant NEK2 expression might be an independent predictor for poor recurrence-free survival and overall survival of skin cutaneous melanoma.

OBJECTIVE

Never in Mitosis (NIMA) Related Kinase 2 (Nek2) is a serine/threonine-protein kinase encoded by the NEK2 gene and is an essential enzyme in cell cycle progression. In this study, we investigated NEK2 expression profile, its independent prognostic value in terms of recurrence-free survival (RFS)/overall survival (OS), and the potential mechanisms of its dysregulation in melanoma.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted using data from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM).

RESULTS

NEK2 was significantly upregulated in melanoma tissues. NEK2 upregulation independently predicted poor OS (HR: 1.500, 95% CI: 1.092-2.059, p = 0.012) and RFS (HR: 2.213, 95% CI: 1.298-3.772, p = 0.004). NEK2 DNA amplification was common in melanoma (192/366, 52.5%), which was associated with significantly elevated NEK2 expression. NEK2 expression was weakly and negatively correlated with its DNA methylation (Pearson's r = -0.29). Loss of p53 was associated with increased NEK2 expression.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on findings above, we infer that NEK2 expression independently predicts poor survival of melanoma. Its dysregulation might be related to DNA amplification/methylation and TP53 mutation.