Abstract 432P
Background
ALKBH1 is a member of the AlkB family of dioxygenases and has been associated with various biological processes such as DNA repair and RNA modification. Its specific role in cancer progression, particularly in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), has not been fully understood. This study seeks to assess the prognostic significance of ALKBH1 and its potential use as a biomarker for predicting immunotherapy response in metastatic HNSCC.
Methods
The Cancer Genome Atlas Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (TCGA-HNSCC) datasets were used to analyze the expression level and clinicopathological significance of ALKBH1. Additionally, real-time PCR and Western blot were used to further validate the mRNA and protein expression of ALKBH1 in tissues from 60 cases of HNSCC patients. A functional enrichment analysis of ALKBH1 was conducted to explore its biological roles. Furthermore, the predictive value of ALKBH1 for treatment response in metastatic HNSCC was assessed using immunotherapy datasets.
Results
The study revealed that high levels of ALKBH1 expression were associated with decreased overall survival and unfavorable clinicopathological characteristics in patients with HNSCC. Real-time PCR and Western blot analyses confirmed increased ALKBH1 expression in tumor tissues compared to normal tissues. This study also discovered a significant association between high ALKBH1 expression and metastasis in HNSCC patients. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that ALKBH1 is involved in pathways related to DNA repair, immune response, and cell proliferation. Moreover, ALKBH1 played a vital role in immunotherapy responses, and overexpression predicted better immunotherapy responses.
Conclusions
ALKBH1 emerges as a promising prognostic biomarker in HNSCC, with high expression levels indicating a poor prognosis. Furthermore, the correlation between ALKBH1 expression and immunotherapy response suggests its potential as a predictive biomarker for treatment outcomes in metastatic HNSCC. This finding underscores the urgency and importance of further research to fully understand the mechanisms at play.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
The authors.
Funding
This work was supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research (Grant no: DHR-GIA, 2020–9530), Government of India.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.