Overexpression of TRMT12 may independently predict poor overall survival in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

PURPOSE: The TRMT12 is a novel oncogene involved in breast cancer. However, the association between TRMT12 and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains unclear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The levels of TRMT12 mRNA in HNSCC and normal tissues were analyzed using data from the Cancer Genome Atlas-HNSC. The expression of TRMT12 was also determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in 165 paired HNSCC and adjacent normal tissues, which were used as the validation cohort. RESULTS: TRMT12 expression was significantly increased in HNSCC tissues versus normal tissues. High TRMT12 expression was significantly associated with human papillomavirus infection, perineural invasion, tumor invasion, lymphatic metastasis, and clinical stage. Moreover, elevated TRMT12 expression was correlated with unfavorable overall survival (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.711, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.141–2.567, P=0.009) and recurrence-free survival (HR: 1.648, 95% CI: 1.060–2.563, P=0.027) in HNSCC patients. CONCLUSION: TRMT12 was significantly upregulated in HNSCC tissues, which may be attributed to both genetic and epigenetic alterations. Increased TRMT12 expression may be involved in the progression and metastasis of HNSCC, and serve as an independent biomarker of poor prognosis in HNSCC with respect to overall survival and recurrence-free survival.