Integrative Analysis Reveals STC2 as a Prognostic Biomarker of Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Stanniocalcin 2 (STC2) is involved in many tumour types, but it remains unclear what its biological function is in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). Therefore, we investigated STC2's expression, potential function, and prognostic significance of in LSCC. The expression and prognosis of STC2 in LSCC were described using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. In the TCGA database, the relationship between STC2 and immune infiltration, expression of immune cell chemokine and receptor genes, immune cell molecular marker genes, and epithelial‒mesenchymal transition (EMT) marker genes were analysed. The biological processes involved in STC2 and its expression-related genes were analysed comprehensively using bioinformatics. The single-gene ceRNA network of STC2 was constructed in the TCGA database. Finally, LSCC patients' tumour tissue STC2 expression was verified. STC2 silencing with the RNAi technique was used for the determination of cellular functions in a laryngeal cancer cell line. STC2 expression was higher in most tumours, including LSCC, than in normal tissues and was associated with poor prognosis. The relative proportions of naïve B, plasma, follicular helper T, and macrophage M0 cells in LSCC and normal samples differed significantly. STC2 expression correlated significantly positively with that of TGFB1 (biomarker of Tregs) and significantly negatively with that of D79A and CD19 (biomarkers of B cells). Furthermore, STC2 affected chemokine and receptor gene expression in immune cells. STC2 expression correlated with EMT marker gene expression in LSCC. STC2 was enriched in the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway, extracellular matrix (ECM) organisation, ECM-receptor interaction, and other tumour-related signalling pathways. STC2 was highly expressed in our clinical samples. N-cadherin and vimentin expression were decreased in the TU686 cell line after successful silencing of STC2, indicating that high STC2 expression may prompt LSCC cells to adopt a mesenchymal cell phenotype. STC2 silencing substantially reduced proliferation and migration in the TU686 cell line. STC2 may be a promising predictive biomarker for tumours, providing new approaches for LSCC diagnosis and treatment monitoring.