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Purpose: Evolutionarily conserved homeobox-containing HOX genes as transcriptional regulators in the developmental specification of organisms is well known. The contribution of HOX genes involvement in oral cancer phenotype has yet to be fully ascertained.Methods: GEO datasets (GSE72627, GSE30784, GSE37991) were accessed and analyzed using GEO2R. TCGA-HNSC HTSeq-counts and clinical data were retrieved from the GDC portal for oral cavity neoplasms. Differential HOX gene expression was profiled using the DESeq2 R package with a log2 fold change cut-off (-1 and +1) and Benjamini-Hochberg p-adjusted value at Results: HOXB2 and HOXA5 genes were upregulated in oral dysplasia but silenced during tumor progression. Loss of HOXB2 expression was consistent through potentially malignant dysplastic oral lesions (PMOL) to primary tumor formation. HOXA10, HOXB7, HOXC6, HOXC10 and HOXD10 showed consistent upregulation from premalignancy to malignancy and were notably associated with risk factors. Overrepresentation analysis suggested HOXA10 was involved in the transcriptional misregulation leading to oral cancer phenotype. HOX subnetwork analysis showed crucial interactions with cell cycle regulators, growth responsive elements, and proto-oncogenes.Conclusion: Phenotype associations specific to the oral region involving HOX genes provide intrinsic cues to tumor development. The 5’ HOX genes were aberrantly deregulated which reflects their posterior prevalence during oral carcinogenesis. |
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