ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Molecular Targets and Therapeutics
This article is part of the Research TopicBiomarkers in Head and Neck Cancer: Genomic Insights and Nuclear Medicine InnovationsView all 4 articles
Pan-cancer analysis of integrin alpha family and prognosis validation in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, China, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
- 2Department of Pathology, Eye & ENT Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China, Shanghai, China
- 3Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Eye & ENT Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China, Shanghai, China
- 4Department of Pharmacy, Eye & ENT Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200031, China, Shanghai, China
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Abstract Background Integrins are cell-surface receptors involved in the interaction of cells with the extracellular matrix and are essential for processes such as cell adhesion, migration, and proliferation. However, the specific mechanisms by which integrin α family (ITGA) genes contribute to tumorigenesis and progression remain to be thoroughly explored. Methods In this study, based on The Cancer Genome Atlas, we explored the differential expression of ITGA family genes in 33 types of tumors and normal tissues. Univariate COX regression was employed to analyze its association with the survival outcomes of pan-cancer patients. Online tools were utilized to analyze genetic changes of the genes, study the relationship with immune subtypes and evaluate immune cells, and analyze the relationship with tumor mutational burden and stemness. Additionally, immunohistochemistry experiments were conducted on Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) tissue samples to assess the impact of ITGA3 and others on patient prognosis. Results ITGA family genes are abnormally expressed in most tumors and are significantly associated with poor prognosis. Genetic changes in these genes are mainly amplifications, and the mutation group has a poor prognosis. The differential expression of ITGA family genes is related to increased immune-related scores and immune cells. In HNSC, the high expression of ITGA3/5/6 serves as a biomarker for poor prognosis. Conclusion: Our research results indicate that ITGA family genes can serve as valuable prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for tumors.
Keywords: integrin alpha family, Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, prognosis, ITGA3, ITGA5, ITGA6
Received: 19 Mar 2025; Accepted: 27 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ji, Hao, Zhang, Hu, Ren, Huang and Gu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Henglei Ren
Qiang Huang
Jifeng Gu
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