Identification of Potential Indicators for Survival in Patients with Thyroid Cancer Based on mRNA Expression Levels of Family with Sequence Similarity 3 Members

Abstract

Background: Thyroid cancer (THCA) is a common head and neck malignancy. The family with sequence similarity 3 (FAM3) is a cytokine-like gene family with four members, which is presumed to participate in the development of many cancer types. However, the expression patterns of FAM3s in THCA and their prognostic values, have not yet been established. Methods: We investigated differential expressions of FAM3 mRNA and protein in THCA, then validated the ndings for FAM3B by immunohistochemistry. We also investigated survival data with respect to FAM3 expression patterns in patients with THCA. FAM3s information regarding their relationships with clinical pathological parameters were obtained and FAM3 mutations were assessed. KEGG and GO pathway regarding FAM3C were obtained using online databases. To investigate potential correlations between FAM3s and immune cell in ltration, we investigated the roles of FAM3s in immune cells of patients with THCA. Results: The mRNA expression of FAM3C were signi cantly elevated in THCA tissues; high expression levels of FAM3C protein were also observed in THCA tissues. A signi cant association between the pathological stage and the expression of FAM3C was found in patients with THCA. Patients with THCA who had high mRNA expression levels of FAM3C exhibited signi cantly more favourable prognosis, compared with patients who had low mRNA expression levels of FAM3C. Conclusions: Overall, FAM3C may play vital roles in the pathogenesis and development of THCA, and these ndings constitute novel insights for biomarkers of immunotherapeutic targeted agents and may aid in the identi cation of prognostic biomarkers for THCA.