RESUMO
The Drosophila zeste enhancer homolog 2 gene (enhancer of zeste homolog 2; EZH2) is an important member of the polycomb group (PcG) gene family, which maintains the homologous gene via chromosome modification during embryonic development. EZH2 is overexpressed in various tumors, is closely related to tumor formation and growth, and has a malignant phenotype that promotes tumor cell proliferation, proliferation and metastasis. In the present study, a meta- and bioinformatic analysis was performed using data from multiple online databases until August 30, 2022. EZH2 upregulation was found in kidney, bladder and prostate cancers. EZH2 expression was negatively related to TNM staging and pathological grade in kidney and prostate cancers (P<0.05), as well as invasion depth and pathological grade in bladder cancer. According to the KM-plotter database, EZH2 expression was inversely associated with poor overall survival in patients with kidney clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and papillary RCC and with favorable survival in bladder cancer. EZH2 expression was negatively related to relapse-free survival in kidney papillary RCC and bladder cancer but positively associated with kidney clear cell RCC. According to GEPIA and UALCAN databases, EZH2 expression was higher in tumor tissue than normal tissue. The TIMER database showed that EZH2 was closely associated with the proportion of seven immune cell infiltrates in kidney, bladder, and prostate cancers. High EZH2 expression may be a potential marker of tumorigenesis and metastasis in patients with urological cancers.
RESUMO
Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) is a member of the extracellular matrix glycoprotein family that binds to calcium ions. It may bind to a variety of proteins in the extracellular matrix and also compete with cell membrane surface receptors for growth. In the present study, the relationship between SPARC expression in gastric cancer tissues and the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of patients with gastric cancer were systematically evaluated. A meta-analysis and bioinformatics analysis were performed using the PubMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Kaplan-Meier (KM)-plotter, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), University of ALabama at Birmingham CANcer (UALCAN), Human Protein Atlas (HPA) and Timer databases. SPARC was mainly expressed in tumor mesenchymal cells. The meta-analysis indicated that SPARC expression was higher in gastric cancer tissues than in normal tissues. SPARC was associated with the degree of differentiation and distant metastasis. K-M plotter results indicated that high SPARC expression was negatively associated with overall survival, post-progression survival and progression-free survival rates of patients. According to the Oncomine, GEPIA, UALCAN and HPA databases, SPARC mRNA and protein expression was upregulated in gastric cancer vs. normal tissues and was negatively associated with poor patient prognosis. In the TCGA database, univariate analysis indicated that lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis were associated with the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer. Cox multifactorial analysis suggested that high SPARC expression, age and distant metastasis were important factors affecting the survival time of patients with gastric cancer. Analysis with the Timer database indicated that SPARC was closely associated with the proportion of 7 immune-cell infiltrates in gastric cancer. These findings indicated that high expression of SPARC may be a potential marker of tumorigenesis and metastasis in patients with gastric cancer.
RESUMO
F-box/WD repeat domain-containing 7 (FBXW7, also known as CDC4) is a member of the F-box protein family, which is a component of the E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. There is an association between expression of FBXW7 and the prognosis of gastric cancer. Therefore, the search for novel tumor biomarkers is key to predict the occurrence, recurrence and metastasis of gastric cancer. In the present study, systematic meta-analysis and bioinformatics analysis were performed to determine the expression levels of prognostic marker FBXW7 in gastric cancer. A literature search was conducted on August 10, 2022, using PubMed, SinoMed, Wanfang data and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases. The meta-analysis included six studies and showed that the expression of FBXW7 was significantly downregulated in gastric cancer compared with normal mucosal tissues (P<0.05). FBXW7 expression was positively associated with lymph node metastasis, TNM stage and differentiation (P<0.05). According to the Oncomine database, FBXW7 mRNA expression was higher in gastric cancer than in normal tissue (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier plots showed that FBXW7 mRNA expression was positively associated with the overall and progression-free survival of patients with gastric cancer. According to the UALCAN and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis databases, FBXW7 expression was downregulated in gastric cancer compared with normal tissue. FBXW7 may be involved in the entire process of gastric carcinogenesis and its low expression may make it a potential marker for the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer.
