Volume 29, Issue 4, 2020
DOI: 10.24205/03276716.2020.909
High Expression of IGFL1 Predicts Poor Prognosis of Serous Ovarian Carcinoma
Abstract
Background and objective: Ovarian cancer is a common gynecological tumor that may develop at any age, which has a very poor prognosis. The mortality rate of ovarian cancer ranks first in gynecological malignancies. In regard to the classification of ovarian cancer, patients with serous ovarian carcinoma account for the majority, posing a serious threat to women’s lives. Therefore, it is crucial to explore the prognostic indicators of serousovarian carcinoma. The IGFL family consists of four expressed genes and two pseudogenes.
IGFL mRNAs are expressed in many cancers, and studies have previously detected the
expression of the IGFL1 gene in the ovaries. This study attempted to analyze the
prognostic role of IGFL1 in serous ovarian carcinoma.Materials and Methods: The mRNA
expression levels of patients with serous ovarian carcinoma were compared by two
groups in the TCGA database. Then, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened by volcano map and Venn analysis, for which the survival analysis was based on the TCGA database. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were then used to identify
the interactions. The relationship between differential genes and prognosis was analyzed
by human protein profile, quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry. Results: By extracting RNA-seq data from the Cancer Genome Atlas Database (TCGA), the clinical significance of IGFL1 mRNA expression was explored. As a result, IGFL1 levels were found to be highly expressed in serous ovarian carcinoma tissues and related to survival status. Survival analysis showed that patients with serous ovarian carcinoma and higher IGFL1 levels generally had shorter overall survival times compared to those with lower IGFL1
expression levels. Accordingly, high IGFL1 expression can be used as an independent prognostic factor for patients with serous ovarian carcinoma. Conclusions: High IGFL-1 expression serves as an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in serous ovarian carcinoma patients.
Keywords
serous ovarian carcinoma, prognosis, IGFL-1, biomarke