Comprehensive analysis of PHF5A as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target across cancers - Pan-cancer study

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Noah

Objective: Cancer causes a predominant share of global deaths, and PHD-finger domain protein 5 A (PHF5A) has been implicated in multiple cancers; however, a pan-cancer analysis has been lacking. Methods: Using public databases, the study assessed PHF5A expression and associations with prognosis, TMB, MSI, functional status, and tumor immunity, then validated findings in hepatocellular carcinoma with bioinformatics, qRT-PCR, and IHC. Results: PHF5A differed between tumor and normal tissues and correlated with prognosis, immune infiltration, checkpoint-related dysfunction, and pathway activity; HCC validation supported links to immune evasion, angiogenesis, and differential therapy response. Conclusions: PHF5A may function as a tumor biomarker and therapeutic target, particularly in HCC.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Cheng et al. BMC Cancer (2024) 24:868 [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-024-12620-z](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-024-12620-z) BMC Cancer RESEARCH Open Access Comprehensive analysis of PHF5Aas a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target across cancersand in hepatocellular carcinoma Qianqian Cheng1†, Wenbin Ji1†, Zhenyu Lv1, Wei Wang2, Zhaiyue Xu3, Shaohua Chen4, Wenting Zhang1, Yu Shao5, Jing Liu1 andYan Yang1* Abstract Objective Cancer is a predominant cause of death globally. PHD-finger domain protein 5 A (PHF5A) has been reported to participate in various cancers; however, there has been no pan-cancer analysis of PHF5A. This study aims to present a novel prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for cancer treatment. Methods This study explored PHF5A expression and its impact on prognosis, tumor mutation burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), functional status and tumor immunity across cancers using various public databases, and validated PHF5A expression and its correlation with survival, immune evasion, angiogenesis, and treatment response in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using bioinformatics tools, qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC) . Results PHF5A was differentially expressed between tumor and corresponding normal tissues and was correlated with prognosis in diverse cancers. Its expression was also associated with TMB, MSI, functional status, tumor microenvironment, immune infiltration, immune checkpoint genes and tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) score in diverse malignancies. In HCC, PHF5A was confirmed to be upregulated by qRT-PCR and IHC, and elevated PHF5A expression may promote immune evasion and angiogenesis in HCC. Additionally, multiple canonical pathways were revealed to be involved in the biological activity of PHF5A in HCC. Moreover, immunotherapy and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) worked better in the low PHF5A expression group, while sorafenib, chemotherapy and AKT inhibitor were more effective in the high expression group. Conclusions This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the biological function of PHF5A in the carcinogenesis and progression of various cancers. PHF5A could serve as a tumor biomarker related to prognosis across cancers, especially HCC, and shed new light on the development of novel therapeutic targets. Keywords Angiogenesis, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Pan-cancer, Prognosis, Treatment response, Tumor immunity †Qianqian Cheng and Wenbin Ji contributed equally to this study and should be considered as co-first authors. *Correspondence: Yan Yang [qiannianhupo@163.com](qiannianhupo@163.com) Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ()[. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ()[http://creativecom](http://creativecom)[mons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/](mons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)) applies to the data

FAQs

What is the main objective of this study on PHF5A?

To present PHF5A as a novel prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target, including evidence across cancers and in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

How did the study evaluate PHF5A across different cancers?

It analyzed PHF5A expression and links to prognosis, TMB, MSI, functional status, and tumor immunity using multiple public databases, then performed validation in HCC using bioinformatics plus qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC).

What therapy response differences were observed in relation to PHF5A expression in HCC?

Immunotherapy and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) performed better in the low PHF5A expression group, whereas sorafenib, chemotherapy, and AKT inhibitor were more effective in the high expression group.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Noah