INHBA is A Novel Prognostic Biomarker And Correlated With Immune Infiltrates In Gastric Cancer
Abstract Background: Inhibin subunit beta A (INHBA) is reportedly a potential prognostic biomarker for a variety of cancers. However, its role in gastric cancer (GC) remains elusive. Methods: The expression of INHBA in GC and healthy tissues based on the data obtained from the UCSC Xena database. Logistic regression and Cox regression was performed to explore the correlation between clinical indicators and INHBA expression. Kaplan–Meier curve analysis was performed to assess the impact of INHBA expression on overall survival(OS). In addition, Received operating characteristic curve analysis was implied to clarify the diagnostic role of INHBA in GC. Functional analyses were conducted to explain the potential functions and enrichment pathways for INHBA. TIMER and GEPIA databases were used to calculate the confidence between INHBA and immune cell infiltration in GC. Results: INHBA was upregulated in GC(P < 0.001) and associated with a poor prognosis(P = 0.037). INHBA expression was an independent risk factor for OS(P = 0.004). Additionally, INHBA was a potential diagnostic marker in GC(AUC=0.961) and it was associated with extracellular matrix organization, response to growth factor, and cell-substrate adhesion. Tumor-associated signaling pathways, such as Wnt, Hippo, and p53, were associated with INHBA. Reactome pathways, such as collagen formation and extracellular matrix organization, were significantly enriched. Moreover, high INHBA expression displayed a strong correlation with immune cell infiltration, especially with macrophage infiltration in GC.Conclusions: INHBA could be a potential prognostic biomarker for GC and may drive the abnormal activity of critical cancer-associated pathways, potentially contributing to immune cell infiltration to promote GC development and becoming a new drug target for targeted GC therapies.