Decreased Expression of CBX7 is an Independent Predictor of Poor Survival in Cervical Cancer

Abstract

Background: CBX7, a component of the PRC1, has been investigated as a potential biomarker in human malignant neoplasias. In present study, the value of CBX7 expression in the diagnostic and prognosis of cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC) as examined via bioinformatics analysis of data obtained from Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) database and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database.Methods: Relationships between clinical factors and CBX7 were explored. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression were used to identify the associations between clinicopathological characteristics and overall survival (OS) in CESC. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed using TCGA dataset. Results: Our results indicated the decreased expression of CBX7 in CESC, and difference in CBX7 expression was also identified according to age subgroups. CESC patients with decreased CBX7 expression had worse prognosis than those with high CBX7 expression. Multivariate analysis showed that CBX7 was an independent risk factor for OS. GSEA demonstrated pathways involved in the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids, glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis-chondroitin sulfate, glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism, nod-like receptor signaling pathway, O-glycan biosynthesis, one carbon pool by folate and protein export as differentially enriched in CESC with decreased CBX7 expression.Conclusion: We demonstrated that decreased CBX7 expression may be a potential independent biomarker for poor prognosis in CESC.