Expression and clinical significance of FASN in cervical cancer tissues based on bioinformatics methods and immunohistochemical analysis

Abstract

Objective To analyze the expression level and clinical significance of fatty acid synthase (FASN) in cervical cancer (CC) tissues using bioinformatics methods and immunohistochemical analysis. Methods RNA sequencing data and clinical information of CC patients were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. FASN expression data were extracted using R4.2.2. Subsequently, taking into account the clinical characteristics of the patients, the study explored the expression levels of FASN in CC tissues, their correlation with clinical features, and the prognosis of the patient. Additionally, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was employed to identify the biological functions and signaling pathways associated with FASN. Finally, the expression of FASN in CC tissues was validated through immunohistochemical experiments, and the correlation between immunohistochemistry (IHC) scores of FASN expression and clinical features was analyzed. Results (1) Both the TCGA database and the clinical specimens from this study verified that FASN was highly expressed in CC tissues compared to paracancerous tissues (P<0.001, P=0.028 5). Moreover, FASN expression was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis and pathological grading (P<0.001, P=0.029; P=0.012, P=0.047). (2) Both overall survival and progression-free survival were significantly shorter in CC patients with higher levels of FASN expression (P<0.001, P<0.001). (3) The body mass index (BMI) was notably higher in CC patients with high FASN IHC scores compared to those with low scores (P<0.001). (4) The human papillomavirus (HPV) infection status significantly varied between high and low IHC FASN expression (P<0.001). (5) Genes from CC patients with high FASN expression were enriched in regulatory pathways including cancer pathways, extracellular matrixreceptor interactions, nitrogen metabolism, melanoma, and actin cytoskeleton. Conclusion FASN exhibited high expression levels in CC tissues and demonstrated correlations with lymph node metastasis, pathological grade, HPV infection status, BMI, and poor prognosis. Consequently, These associations indicate its potential as a promising biomarker and therapeutic target for the diagnosis of CC.

Keywords

• fatty acid synthase
• cervical cancer
• immunohistochemistry
• bioinformatics
• clinical significance