Translation elongation factor eEF1Bα is identified as a novel prognostic marker of gastric cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) is a common cancer in humans. Although overexpression of eukaryotic translation elongation factor eEF1Bα is associated with cancer onset and progression, little is known about its expression in GC and its prognostic significance. Here we used immunohistochemistry to analyze eEF1Bα expression in the following tissue types: GC, normal gastric, chronic gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and intraepithelial neoplasia. These data were correlated with patients' clinical information. eEF1Bα was expressed at levels approximately three times higher in GC tissues compared with normal gastric tissues. High expression of eEF1Bα was significantly associated with histological type, TNM stage, tumor size, and distant metastases. GC patients with high eEF1Bα expression experienced significantly shorter overall survival. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that eEF1Bα may be associated with protein synthesis, energy metabolism, cell cycle, and the p53 signaling pathway. We identified the products of RPL10A and RPS13 as critical components of a network comprising eEF1Bα. We concluded that high eEF1Bα expression is associated with poor overall survival and may serve as an independent prognostic factor of GC. Further, we proposed that eEF1Bα likely mediates the development of GC through the cell cycle and p53 signaling pathway. Together, our findings suggest that eEF1Bα could be an effective prognostic biomarker for GC.