MEX3A is a diagnostic, independent prognostic biomarker and a promising therapeutic target in glioblastoma.

OBJECTIVE

Gliomas are the most common malignant brain tumors with a poor prognosis. Despite advances in molecular profiling, no targeted therapies significantly improve survival. Recently, it has been demonstrated that high expression of Muscle Excess 3A (MEX3A) correlates with poor overall survival (OS) in gliomas, generating interest in its potential as a biomarker and therapeutic target. This study analyzes the correlation between expression and clinical-molecular features, assessing its diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic value in glioblastoma (GB), the most aggressive glioma subtype.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective study on a consecutive series of surgically-treated glioma patients. The values of mRNA levels for the discrete variables examined has been reported by boxplots. Chi-square tests were carried out to analyze the correlation between expression and patient features. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox regression analysis were applied to assess the diagnostic and independent prognostic values of MEX3A in GB. Finally, the effect of genetic knockdown on human primary GB both and orthotopic xenograft model cell has been evaluated.

RESULTS

Elevated MEX3A expression associates with more severe clinicopathological and molecular features of glioma patients. MEX3A exhibits high diagnostic accuracy (AUC > 0.9) and correlates with poor OS (HR=2.068, p=0.0018) and progression-free survival (PFS) (HR=2.209, p=0.0005) in GB. Multivariate Cox regression identified MEX3A as an independent prognostic factor for OS and PFS. Notably, knockdown inhibits tumor growth and

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight MEX3A as a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker and a promising therapeutic target for GB.