Bioinformatics analysis of BIRC5 in human cancers

Han-Bin Ye; Bao-Jun Ma; Gao-Qiang Meng; Shuo Tao; Yong Wang; Zhenghua Chen; Wei Zhao; Bing-Yan Ren; Zi Ye

doi:10.21037/atm-22-3496

Bioinformatics analysis of BIRC5 in human cancers

Ann Transl Med. 2022 Aug;10(16):888. doi: 10.21037/atm-22-3496.

Authors

Han-Bin Ye^#¹, Bao-Jun Ma^#¹, Gao-Qiang Meng¹, Shuo Tao², Yong Wang¹, Zhenghua Chen¹, Wei Zhao¹, Bing-Yan Ren³, Zi Ye¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong First People's Hospital, Nantong, China.
² Department of Outpatient, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong First People's Hospital, Nantong, China.
³ Department of Emergency, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong First People's Hospital, Nantong, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: An inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) family member, baculoviral IAP repeat containing five (BIRC5) plays an important role in the occurrence and development of tumors. However, the underlying mechanism in human cancers remains unclear.

Methods: In this study, we investigated BIRC5 expression and explored the prognostic value of BIRC5 in different human cancers via bioinformatics analysis, including the databases of Oncomine, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), UALCAN, GEPIA, DriverDBv3, GeneMANIA, WEB-based Gene Set Analysis Tool (WebGestalt) and TIMER.

Results: In most human cancers, BIRC5 usually had higher expression compared to normal human tissues. High expression of BIRC5 could increase the mortality of patients with adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC), low-grade glioma (LGG), liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC), and lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) (P<0.05). Cox analysis demonstrated that high BIRC5 expression was an independent factor for poor overall survival (OS) [hazard ratio, (HR) >1, P<0.05]. There were differences in BIRC5 expression in the case of TP53 mutation, different tumor grades, and stages. Interactive genes for BIRC5 mainly participated in apoptosis, cell division, cell cycle, and cancer pathways, strongly suggesting its oncogenic role in promoting cancer cell proliferation and cancer development. In addition, BIRC5 expression exhibited a close correlation with immune infiltration, which was related to the cumulative survival rate, especially in LGG. The elevated expression of BIRC5 could be regulated through TP53 mutation, tumor stage, and tumor grade (P<0.05).

Conclusions: As a result of our findings, BIRC5 appears to be an independent unfavourable prognostic biomarker in human cancers. BIRC5 may become a potential clinical target in the future for the treatment of cancers.

Keywords: Baculoviral IAP repeat containing 5 (BIRC5); carcinogenesis; human cancers; immune infiltration; prognostic biomarker.