Abnormal TACC3 Expression is an Independent Prognostic Biomarker in Lung Carcinoma
Abstract Background: Abnormal expression of transforming acidic coiled-coil protein 3 (TACC3) correlates with tumorigenesis of many human malignancies. However, the expression pattern of TACC3 and its clinical significance have not been well characterized in lung carcinoma (LUAD) so far. Objective: To investigate the association of TACC3 expression level with the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of LUAD patients.Methods: In the study, based on Oncomine, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), UALCAN, and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases, the expression of TACC3 was determined in LUAD patients. Further, the expression of TACC3 was established using qRT-PCR in LUAD patients. Results: Our results showed that TACC3 was significantly overexpressed in LUAD tumors compared with non-tumors in the above public databases (all p<0.01). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis suggested that TACC3 may have diagnostic value in LUAD patients (normal vs tumor: AUC = 0.940). Kaplan-Meier analysis further demonstrated that high TACC3 expression in tumors was significantly associated with worse overall survival (OS) in LUAD patients (all p<0.01). In addition, Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that TACC3 was an independent risk factor for OS among LUAD patients (HR = 1.02, 95% CI: 1.01-1.04, p = 0.00823; HR=1.43, 95% CI: 1.17-1.70, p <0.001). Finally, using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA 3.0), we found that a series of potential pathways related to TACC3 were highly enriched with the high TACC3 expression phenotype (p = 0.024, p = 0.003, respectively). Conclusions: The present study provides evidence that TACC3 expression is upregulated in tumors and may be an independent risk factor for prognosis in LUAD patients.