Identification of prognostic microRNA candidates for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

The aim of the present study was to uncover potential prognostic microRNA (miRNA) markers in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). miRNA expression profile and clinical data were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Survival analysis was conducted by Kaplan-Meier method. Then, candidate prognostic miRNAs were screened via Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Furthermore, target genes of miRNAs were predicted, and their interactions and functions were then analyzed. A total of 15 miRNAs were discovered to be significantly related to overall survival. Among them, miR-1251, miR-618 and miR-328 with p<0.05 were potentially significant prognostic factors of HNSCC. In the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, the target gene of miR-328, MAX, interacted with multiple genes. The target gene of miR-618, E2F1, interacted with genes such as MAX, SMAD3 and IGF1. Furthermore, the target genes of miR-618 (e.g. E2F1 and SMAD3), and the target genes of miR-328 (e.g. MAX) were significantly enriched in the functions of transcriptional regulation. The target gene of miR-1251, IGF1, was associated with functions such as signal transduction. The above miRNAs (miR-1251, miR-618 and miR-328) may be potential prognostic markers in HNSCC.