Comprehensive analysis of the prognostic value of PEBP4 in pan-cancers

Abstract

Abstract Background PEBP4, a member of the protein family containing a binding motif for phosphatidylethanolamine, is involved in the development, progression, metastasis, and invasion of many cancers. However, a complete analysis of the predictive value of PEBP4 in diagnosis, prognosis, and immunotherapy has not been conducted. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between PEBP4 expression and pan-cancer prognosis, progression of multiple cancers, and immune cell infiltration into the tumor microenvironment.Methods In this study, transcriptomic data on PEBP4 expression in tumor tissues and normal or paraneoplastic tissues were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases. Based on various analysis tools such as " Gene set variation analysis (GSVA)" and "CIBERSORT," we comprehensively analyzed PEBP4 expression differences, clinical features, survival prognosis, immune-related characteristics, and potential interaction targets in various tumors.Results The analysis of the expression of PEBP4 in 33 human cancers showed that PEBP4 expression was downregulated in most cancers and correlated with the pathological stage, grade, and prognosis of multiple cancers, suggesting that PEBP4 may play a role in regulating tumorigenesis and progression in multiple cancers. In addition, PEBP4 gene expression is associated with the infiltration of several immune cells and immune-related genes, and is related to Tumor Mutation Burden (TMB)/ Microsatellite Instability (MSI) in various cancers. These results indicated that PEBP4 is involved in the immune response of tumor cells to immunotherapy and could be a potential target for immunotherapy in various cancers.Conclusion This study identified PEBP4 as a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of multiple cancers. It is closely associated with the regulation of the tumor immune microenvironment, which lays the groundwork for further functional and mechanistic experiments.