Identification of hub genes and microRNAs with prognostic values in esophageal cancer by integrated analysis.

Esophageal cancer (EC) is the eighth most common cancer in the world, and the sixth most common cause of cancer-related mortality. The aim of the present study was to identify cell and molecular mechanisms involved in EC, and to provide the potential targets for diagnosis and treatment. Here, a microarray dataset (GSE20347) was screened to find differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Different bioinformatic methods were used to analyze the identified DEGs. The up-regulated DEGs were significantly involved in different biological processes and pathways including extracellular matrix organization and ECM-receptor interaction. FN1, CDK1, AURKA, TOP2A, FOXM1, BIRC5, CDC6, UBE2C, TTK, and TPX2 were identified as the most important genes among the up-regulated DEGs. Our analysis showed that has-miR-29a-3p, has-miR-29b-3p, has-miR-29c-3p, and has-miR-767-5p had the largest number of common targets among the up-regulated DEGs. These findings strengthen the understanding of EC development and progression, as well as representing potential markers for EC diagnosis and treatment.