Prognostic value of CD247 in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: bioinformatic analysis of TCGA database

BACKGROUND: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) is the 7th most common type of cancer in the world. Through the advantages of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) large-scale sequencing-based genome analysis technology, we can explore the potential molecular mechanisms that can improve the prognosis of HNSC patients. METHODS: The HNSC transcriptome and clinical data were downloaded from TCGA database. A univariate survival analysis and differential expression analysis were conducted to obtain the intersection gene set. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis, modular analysis, and Gene Ontology (GO)/Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) functional enrichment analysis were then conducted to identify the hub genes. Clinical correlation analysis, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed on the identified hub genes to determine the prognostic impact of hub genes on HNSC patients. RESULTS: In total, 601 intersecting gene sets were obtained. A modular analysis was conducted, and the highest scoring module was 19.304. Based on the GO/KEGG enrichment analysis results, CD247 molecule (CD247) was ultimately selected as the gene for this study. The CD247 were divided into a high-expression group and a low-expression group. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that there was a significant difference between the 2 groups (P<0.0001). The median survival time of the low-expression CD247 group was 30.9 months, and the 5-year survival rate was 36.4%. While the median survival time of the high-expression CD247 group was 68.8 months, and the 5-year survival rate was 52.3%. The clinical correlation analysis showed that CD247 was significantly negatively correlated with pathological tumor stage (pT) and pathological nodal extracapsular spread. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) showed that CD247 activating KEGG pathway hsa04650 and hsa04660. CONCLUSIONS: CD247 is an independent protective factor in the prognosis of HNSC patients. By activating the hsa04650 and hsa04660 pathways, the expression of interferon gamma, interleukin (IL)-2, and IL-10 is promoted, which in turn improves the tumor immune monitoring ability of the body, induces tumor cell apoptosis, and inhibits tumor cell growth. CD247 is a potential target for improving the clinical treatment effect of HNSC and the prognosis of patients.