The expression of HOXA9 and its prognostic value in cervical cancer
Abstract Background The HOXA9 gene, belonging to homeobox (HOX) gene family, has been recently reported dys-expressed in several kinds of human cancers. This study aimed to investigate the expression of HOXA9 and its prognostic value in cervical cancer. Methods The HOXA9 mRNA expression was detected with a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay, and the association of HOXA9 expression with clinical characteristic was analyzed via chi-square test. Kaplan-Meier and cox regression analyses were conducted to estimate the prognostic value of HOXA9 in cervical cancer. Results HOXA9 expression was significantly down-expressed in cervical cancer tissues compared with that in adjacent normal tissues (P < 0.01). And the expression of HOXA9 was significantly associated with TNM stage, pathological grade, FIGO stage and differentiation (All P < 0.05). In addition, Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated that the overall survival of patients with low HOXA9 expression was shorter than those with high HOXA9 expression (log rank test, P = 0.000). Cox regression analysis revealed that HOXA9 had a high prognostic value in cervical cancer. Conclusion HOXA9 is down-regulated and involved in the development of cervical cancer. Moreover, it may be an useful independent prognostic bio-marker for patients with cervical cancer.