BACKGROUND
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC) is an invasive
malignancy with a high worldwide mortality, despite considerable recent advancements in diagnosis and treatment. Increasing evidence indicates that the
Lamin C (LAMC) gene family is associated with the progression of diverse
cancers, nevertheless, this association is not well understood. MATERIAL AND METHODS A systematic study addressing the expression and prognostic value of LAMC, and the relationship between LAMC and
tumor immune response in HNSC was done. Finally, we performed
drug screening to identify specific drugs. RESULTS Compared to normal samples, expressions of LAMC1 and LAMC2 were significantly increased in HNSC, and LAMC2 was obviously correlated with an adverse prognosis for patients. LAMC2 expression level was significantly correlated with the infiltrating levels of B cells, CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, and macrophages. Moreover, LAMC2 exhibited strong correlations with diverse
immune markers, immune microenvironment, and
immune checkpoint molecules. Finally, candidate drugs that targeted LAMC2 were identified. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that LAMC2 could serve as a new prognostic
biomarker, and it could be used for efficacy of target for immune response and for
drug sensitivity prediction in HNSC.