Identification of Therapeutic and Prognostic Biomarkers of Lamin C (LAMC) Family Members in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) is an invasive malignancy with a high worldwide mortality, despite considerable recent advancements in diagnosis and treatment. Increasing evidence indicates that the Lamin C (LAMC) gene family is associated with the progression of diverse cancers, nevertheless, this association is not well understood. MATERIAL/METHODS: A systematic study addressing the expression and prognostic value of LAMC, and the relationship between LAMC and tumor immune response in HNSC was done. Finally, we performed drug screening to identify specific drugs. RESULTS: Compared to normal samples, expressions of LAMC1 and LAMC2 were significantly increased in HNSC, and LAMC2 was obviously correlated with an adverse prognosis for patients. LAMC2 expression level was significantly correlated with the infiltrating levels of B cells, CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, and macrophages. Moreover, LAMC2 exhibited strong correlations with diverse immune markers, immune microenvironment, and immune checkpoint molecules. Finally, candidate drugs that targeted LAMC2 were identified. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that LAMC2 could serve as a new prognostic biomarker, and it could be used for efficacy of target for immune response and for drug sensitivity prediction in HNSC.