Comprehensive analysis of INHBA: A biomarker for anti-TGFβ treatment in head and neck cancer.

Inhibin subunit βA () 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 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) remains unclear. The expression profile and prognostic significance of in HNSC were assessed using a variety of informatics methods. The level of 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 upregulation in HNSC. overexpression was validated as an independent poor prognostic factor by multivariate Cox regression, and including expression level in the prognostic model could increase prediction accuracy. In addition, copy number alterations (CNAs) of and miR-217-5p downregulation are potential mechanisms for elevated expression in HNSC. In conclusion, may represent a promising predictive biomarker and candidate target for anti-TGFβ therapy in HNSC.