Prognostic value of subfamily gene expression in cholangiocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a lethal malignancy with limited treatment options and poor prognosis. The subfamily of E26 transformation specific genes: , , and are known to play significant roles in various cancers by influencing cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis.

AIM

To analyze subfamily gene expression levels in CCA and their correlation with clinical parameters to determine their prognostic value for CCA.

METHODS

The expression levels of subfamily genes in pan-cancer and CCA data in the cancer genome atlas and genotype-tissue expression project databases were analyzed with R language software. Survival curve and receiver operating characteristic analyses were performed using the SurvMiner, Survival, and Procr language packages. The gene expression profiling interactive analysis 2.0 database was used to analyze the expression levels of subfamily genes in different subtypes and stages of CCA. Web Gestalt was used to perform the gene ontology/ Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (GO/KEGG) analysis, and STRING database analysis was used to determine the genes and proteins related to subfamily genes.

RESULTS

, , and expression levels were significantly increased in CCA. There were significant differences in , , and expression levels among the different subtypes of CCA, and predictive analysis revealed that only high and expression levels were significantly associated with shorter overall survival in patients with CCA. GO/KEGG analysis revealed that subfamily genes were closely related to transcriptional misregulation in cancer. and experiments revealed that silencing inhibited the invasion and metastasis of CCA cells.

CONCLUSION

The expression level of may be a predictive biomarker of survival in patients with CCA.