CDCA8 as an independent predictor for a poor prognosis in liver cancer

BACKGROUND: Human cell division cycle associated 8 (CDCA8) a key regulator of mitosis, has been described as a potential prognostic biomarker for a variety of cancers, such as breast, colon and lung cancers. We aimed to evaluate the potential role of CDCA8 expression in the prognosis of liver cancer by analysing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). METHODS: The Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used to compare the difference in CDCA8 expression between liver cancer tissues and matched normal tissues. Then, we applied logistic regression and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test to identify the association between CDCA8 expression and clinicopathologic characteristics. Cox regression and the Kaplan–Meier method were used to examine the clinicopathologic features correlated with overall survival (OS) in patients from the TCGA. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to explore possible mechanisms of CDCA8 according to the TCGA dataset. RESULTS: CDCA8 expression was higher in liver cancer tissues than in matched normal tissues. Logistic regression and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test revealed that the increased level of CDCA8 expression in liver cancer tissues was notably related to T stage (OR = 1.64 for T1/2 vs. T3/4), clinical stage (OR = 1.66 for I/II vs. III/IV), histologic grade (OR = 6.71 for G1 vs. G4) and histological type (OR = 0.24 for cholangiocarcinoma [CHOL] vs. hepatocellular carcinoma [LIHC]) (all P-values < 0.05). Kaplan–Meier survival analysis indicated that high CDCA8 expression was related to a poor prognosis in liver cancer (P = 2.456 × 10(−6)). Univariate analysis showed that high CDCA8 expression was associated with poor OS in liver cancer patients, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.85 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.47–2.32; P = 1.16 × 10(–7)). Multivariate analysis showed that CDCA8 expression was independently correlated with OS (HR = 1.74; CI: 1.25–12.64; P = 1.27 × 10(–5)). GSEA revealed that the apoptosis, cell cycle, ErbB, MAPK, mTOR, Notch, p53 and TGF-β signaling pathways were differentially enriched in the CDCA8 high expression phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: High CDCA8 expression is a potential molecular predictor of a poor prognosis in liver cancer.