Research Article - Journal of RNA and Genomics (2021) Volume 17, Issue 0

HSF1 gene amplification and overexpression is associated with poor survival in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients.

Background: Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) is an aggressive life- threatening disease associated with high mortality rates. HNSCC is genetically complex and difficult to treat. Collagen triple helix repeat containing 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HSF1 gene. Aim of the study: To analyse the expression of HSF1 gene in HNSCC and identify its role as a prognostic marker in HNSCC. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study till date to provide strong evidence on the association of HSF1 gene expression with HNSCC. Methodology: The HSF1 gene expression was analyzed using web tools (UALCAN) from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data. Then, the genetic alterations of HSF1 were examined by the cBioPortal database. Moreover, the prognostic values of HSF1 in HNSCC patients were investigated via the Kaplan-Meier plotter. Results: We observed that the mRNA expression level of HSF1 was increased in most cancers compared with normal tissues, especially in HNSCC. In addition, we also used Kaplan-Meier plotter to evaluate the prognostic value of HSF1 in HNSCC patients. It showed highly expressed HSF1 was significantly related with poor Overall Survival (OS) in HNSCC patients. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the HSF1 amplification and over-expression could be considered as a prognostic marker for HNSCC

Author(s): Aksha Sharen, Smiline Girija AS, Balachander K, Vijayashree Priyadharshini J, Arumugam Paramasivam

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