Clinical Significance of Integrin Subunit Beta 4 in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background: The expression level and clinical significance of integrin subunit beta 4 (ITGB4) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remain unclear. Materials and Methods: Expression of ITGB4 in HNSCC tissues were evaluated by calculating standard mean differences (SMDs) based on gene chips, RNA-seq, and immunohistochemistry data (n = 2330) from multiple sources. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to detect the ability of ITGB4 to distinguish HNSCC from non-HNSCC samples. The relationship between the expression level of ITGB4 and clinical parameters was evaluated by calculating SMDs. Results: Identical results of mRNA and protein levels indicated remarkable up-expression of ITGB4 in HNSCC tissues. Further ROC curves showed that ITGB4 could distinguish HNSCC from non-HNSCC samples. Genetic alteration analysis of ITGB4 in HNSCC indicated that overexpression of ITGB4 in HNSCC was likely not owing to genetic alteration of ITGB4. Moreover, ITGB4 overexpression level may be correlated with clinical T stage. Conclusion: ITGB4 likely plays an essential role in HNSCC occurrence based on our study and its potential diagnostic value is worthy of further exploration in the future.