The Oncogenic Role of CENPA in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Development: Evidence from Bioinformatic Analysis

OBJECTIVE: This study is aimed at investigating the predictive value of CENPA in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. METHODS: Using integrated bioinformatic analysis, we evaluated the CENPA mRNA expression in tumor and adjacent tissues and correlated it with HCC survival and clinicopathological features. A Cox regression hazard model was also performed. RESULTS: CENPA mRNA was significantly upregulated in tumor tissues compared with that in adjacent tissues, which were validated in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) series (all P < 0.01). In the Kaplan-Meier plotter platform, the high level of CENPA mRNA was significantly correlated with overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and progression-free survival (PFS) in HCC patients (all log rank P < 0.01). For validation in GSE14520 and pan-TCGA dataset, HCC patients with CNEPA mRNA overexpression had poor OS compared with those with low CENPA mRNA (log rank P = 0.025 and P < 0.0001, respectively), and those with high CENPA had poor DFS in TCGA (log rank P = 0.0001). Additionally, CENPA mRNA were upregulated in HCC patients with alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) elevation, advanced TNM stage, larger tumor size, advanced AJCC stage, advanced pathology grade, and vascular invasion (all P < 0.05). A Cox regression model including CENPA, OIP5, and AURKB could predict OS in HCC patients effectively (AUC = 0.683). CONCLUSION: Overexpressed in tumors, CENPA might be an oncogenic factor in the development of HCC patients.