Comprehensive analysis of the prognosis and biological significance of RORß in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

ABSTRACT

Recent studies have shown that abnormal expression of the core circadian clock gene, retinoic acid-related orphan receptor ß (RORß ), is closely associated with the occurrence and progression of various malignant tumors. However, the expression and function of RORß in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains unclear. Here, we comprehensively investigated the altered expression, clinical significance, prognostic value, and biological functions of RORß in HNSC, as well as its correlation with changes in the tumor immune microenvironment. We found that RORß expression was decreased in HNSC and 19 other cancers. Low RORß expression was significantly associated with tumor size, clinical stage, and survival time in HNSC patients, indicating that it may have diagnostic and prognostic value in HNSCC. Epigenetic analysis showed that the promoter methylation level of RORß was significantly higher in HNSCC compared to adjacent noncancerous tissues. Furthermore, RORß hypermethylation was significantly associated with low expression levels of RORß and poor prognosis in HNSCC patients (p < 0.05). Enrichment analysis found that RORß was involved in immune system regulation and T-cell activation, as well as the PI3K/AKT and ECM receptors interaction pathways. In vitro assays revealed that RORß regulated the proliferation, migration and invasion ability of HNSCC cells. Additionally, we found that RORß expression was significantly correlated with changes in the tumor immune microenvironment, suggesting it may affect prognosis by regulating immune infiltration in HNSC patients. Therefore, RORß may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for HNSCC patients.