Abstract
BackgroundEpithelial ovarian cancer is one of the most severe public health threats in women. Since it is still challenging to screen in early stages, identification of core genes that play an essential role in epithelial ovarian cancer initiation and progression is of vital importance.ResultsSeven gene expression datasets (GSE6008, GSE18520, GSE26712, GSE27651, GSE29450, GSE36668, and GSE52037) containing 396 ovarian cancer samples and 54 healthy control samples were analyzed to identify the significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs). We identified 563 DEGs, including 245 upregulated and 318 downregulated genes. Enrichment analysis based on the gene ontology (GO) functions and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways showed that the upregulated genes were significantly enriched in cell division, cell cycle, tight junction, and oocyte meiosis, while the downregulated genes were associated with response to endogenous stimuli, complement and coagulation cascades, the cGMP-PKG signaling pathway, and serotonergic synapse. Two significant modules were identified from a protein-protein interaction network by using the Molecular Complex Detection (MCODE) software. Moreover, 12 hub genes with degree centrality more than 29 were selected from the protein-protein interaction network, and module analysis illustrated that these 12 hub genes belong to module 1. Furthermore, Kaplan-Meier analysis for overall survival indicated that 9 of these hub genes was correlated with poor prognosis of epithelial ovarian cancer patients.ConclusionThe present study systematically validates the results of previous studies and fills the gap regarding a large-scale meta-analysis in the field of epithelial ovarian cancer. Furthermore, hub genes that could be used as a novel biomarkers to facilitate early diagnosis and therapeutic approaches are evaluated, providing compelling evidence for future genomic-based individualized treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer.
Highlights
Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological cancer in the world and a general term which contains some cancers derived from various tissues [1]
The present study systematically validates the results of previous studies and fills the gap regarding a large-scale meta-analysis in the field of epithelial ovarian cancer
Hub genes that could be used as a novel biomarkers to facilitate early diagnosis and therapeutic approaches are evaluated, providing compelling evidence for future genomic-based individualized treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer
Summary
Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological cancer in the world and a general term which contains some cancers derived from various tissues [1]. High-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) is the most lethal subtype in the epithelial ovarian cancer, and most of them are diagnosed in an advanced stage [3]. The standard treatment for ovarian cancer is maximal cytoreductive surgery and platinum-based chemotherapy [4]. Ovarian cancer actively responds to the initial anticancer therapy, nearly 75% of patients may relapse within two years and cannot be treated with the available chemotherapy drugs [5, 6]. Metastasis within the peritoneal cavity and resistance to chemotherapy are the leading causes of the high mortality rate associated with ovarian cancer, because this cancer is often diagnosed in late clinical stages as what has been mentioned above [5]. Since it is still challenging to screen in early stages, identification of core genes that play an essential role in epithelial ovarian cancer initiation and progression is of vital importance
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