Expression and prognosis analyses of PEA3 subfamily in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma via integrated bioinformatics

Abstract Backgroud: The PEA3 subfamily belongs to the first category of the ETS family, and it consists of three family members, namely, ETV1, ETV4, and ETV5. These members were implicated in the progression of many cancers. But their prognostic roles in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remain to be characterized. Methods Data from multiple open databases were used to analyze the expression, regulation, mutations, immune infiltration, and functional networks of the PEA3 subfamily in patients with HNSCC. Results The results demonstrated that these patients showed downregulated ETV1 and upregulated ETV4/5 compared with healthy subjects. Furthermore, high expression of ETV4/5 and low expression of ETV1 were linked to the shortened overall survival in patients with HNSCC. The immune infiltration in B cells stimulated the prognosis, and it may have a prognostic medical significance linked to the PEA3 subfamily in HNSCC. These results showed that data mining efficiently revealed the expression of the PEA3 subfamily in HNSCC, but this study requires further large-scale genomic and basic research. Conclusions This study provided new insight into the prognostic roles of PEA3 subfamily in HNSCC with potential mechanistic values.