Comprehensive Analysis of the Role of Forkhead Box J3 (FOXJ3) in Human Cancers

Abstract

Forkhead box J3 (FOXJ3) is a member of the forkhead box (Fox) family. Recently, increasing evidence has revealed the relationship between Fox family members and cancer. FOXJ3 is involved in various types of cancer, including lung cancer, tongue squamous carcinoma, and prostate cancer; however, a comprehensive pan-cancer analysis of FOXJ3 remains lacking. Here, we explored the function of FOXJ3 across cancers using online websites and databases including TIMER2.0, SangerBox, UALCAN, GEPIA2.0, cBioPortal, CancerSEA,STRING, BioGRID and Metascape to analyze the role of FOXJ3 in cancers. Abnormal expression of FOXJ3 was found in various tumors. The genetic alteration percentage in tumors was determined, and elevated FOXJ3 expression was found to be associated with worse overall survival in brain lower grade glioma(LGG), liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC), sarcoma (SARC) and thyroid carcinoma. Elevated FOXJ3 expression was related to worse prognosis with disease-free survival in adrenocortical carcinoma, LGG and LIHC. FOXJ3 expression was related to immune infiltration in several cancers. Enrichment analysis showed that histone modification, the TGF-β signaling pathway, and chromatin organization were the top three enriched ontology clusters of the top 100 similar genes of FOXJ3. Our pan-cancer analysis provides comprehensive insights into FOXJ3 from the perspective of bioinformatics in different cancers, where it serves as a potential biomarker for prognosis, especially in LGG and LIHC. FOXJ3 is also correlated with immune infiltrates in certain human tumors.