FANCI may serve as a prognostic biomarker for cervical cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: DNA damage is a fundamental process that plays a considerable role in generating protein diversity. FANCI, loaded on the altered chromatin, plays a vital role in DNA damage. Abnormal FANCI expression is potentially associated with carcinogenesis.However, the biological role of FANCI in cervical cancer is yet to be determined. METHODS: We analyzed FANCI expression via multiple gene expression databases. Genes co-expressed with FANCI and its regulators were identified using LinkedOmics. The correlations between FANCI and cancer immune infiltrates were investigated via Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER). RESULTS: FANCI was found upregulated with amplification in tumor tissues of multiple cervical cancer cohorts. High FANCI expression was associated with poorer overall survival (OS). Functional network analysis suggested that FANCI regulates spliceosome, DNA replication, and cell cycle signaling via pathways involving several cancer-related kinases and the E2F family. In additional, FANCI expression was positively correlated with infiltrating levels of CD4+ T and CD8+ T cells, and neutrophils. FANCI expression also showed strong correlations with diverse immune marker sets in cervical cancer. CONCLUSION: These findings suggested that FANCI is correlated with prognosis of and immune infiltration in cervical cancer, laying a foundation for further study of the immune regulatory role of FANCI in cervical cancer.