Molecular Characteristics and Prognostic Role of EPHA2 in Human Tumors via Pan-cancer Analysis

Background: The tyrosine kinase ephrin type-A receptor 2（EPHA2）is remarkably elevated expressed in various tumors and plays a crucial role in cancer tumorigenesis and progression, while pan-cancer analyses (PCA) are currently lacking. This study was designed to analyze the expression status and prognostic significance of EPHA2 in pan-cancer. Methods: By mining The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data, we performed a comprehensive and systematic characterization of EPHA2 across more than 10,000 samples of 33 types of cancer. Results: EPHA2 expressions were substantially different in most of the normal control and tumor tissues and considerably associated with the prognosis of tumor patients. In addition, the missense mutation is more prevalent in EPHA2 genetic modification in malignancies. Moreover, a notable association has been developed between EPHA2 expressions and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in most TCGA cancers. Furthermore, Functional enrichment analysis showed that the biological role of EPHA2 in tumors is mainly involved in some noticeably pro-oncogenic pathways, such as the Ras signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, ErbB signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, etc. Conclusions: This study provides the first PCA with the extensive role of EPHA2 in various tumors, and EPHA2 is potentially involved in many cancer types and can be developed as candidates for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic biomarkers.