FFAR4 promotes cell proliferation and migration and servers as a potential biomarker for clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in laryngocarcinoma

OBJECTIVE: The poor prognosis of advanced laryngocarcinoma was associated with the epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT), which was related to the dysregulated expression of free fatty acids receptor 4 (FFAR4). By detecting the expression of FFAR4 in laryngocarcinoma and its relation with the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of laryngocarcinoma, as well as conducting in vitro experiments, our aim is to explore the role of FFAR4 in laryngocarcinoma biological and clinical process. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The protein expression level of FFAR4 in 54 cases of laryngocarcinoma and 30 cases of laryngocarcinoma adjacent tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry. Combined with clinical follow-up data, the Kaplan-Meier survival curve and log-rank test were conducted to compare the relation between the expression of FFAR4, the clinicopathological characteristics, and the 5-year survival rate in laryngocarcinoma. Multivariable Cox regression analysis revealed the independent predictors for the prognosis of laryngocarcinoma. CCK-8 and migration assay were used to test cell proliferation and migration abilities. RESULTS: FFAR4 was upregulated in laryngocarcinoma tissues and influenced cell proliferation and migration abilities. The FFAR4 expression was related to the age and lymph node metastasis in laryngocarcinoma patients and indicated a reduced 5-year survival rate and increased lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: The upregulation FFAR4 expression was associated with the lymph node metastasis and the prognosis. FFAR4 can significantly promote laryngocarcinoma cell proliferation and migration in vitro.