Pan-cancer analysis and breast cancer validation reveal DEAD-box helicase 23 as a crucial prognostic and immuno-biomarker

Sep 22, 2026

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Abnormal RNA metabolism drives tumorigenesis, and abnormal expression of the DEAD-box RNA helicase DDX23 (DEAD-box helicase 23) has been linked to cancer progression. Pan-cancer-wide studies of DDX23 remain limited. Using TCGA and GEO, this study evaluates DDX23 expression patterns, prognostic and diagnostic performance, and immuno-related features across cancers, constructs interaction networks with functional enrichment, and verifies key biological effects with in vitro experiments.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Materials and methods

A thorough analysis of DDX23 expression across diverse cancer datasets

[www. nature.com/scientificreports](www. nature.com/scientificreports) OPEN Pan-cancer analysis and breast cancer validation reveal DEAD-box helicase 23 as a crucial prognostic and immuno-biomarker Haotian Ma1,3, XiyidanAimaiti1,3, Yiyang Wang1,3, Yongxiang Li1, Jiawei Zhao1, Jiayue Hou2, Jiaqi Li2 & Chenming Guo1􀀍 Abnormal RNA metabolism is one of the core mechanisms in tumorigenesis. DDX23, a member of the family of DEAD-box protein, characterized as an ATP-dependent RNA helicase, facilitates cancer progression due to its abnormal expression. However, systematic studies examining DDX23 across the pan-cancer spectrum remain scarce. We utilized databases like TCGA and GEO to thoroughly examine the expression pattern of DDX23 in our study, its prognostic value, diagnostic efficacy, and immunerelated properties across multiple cancers. We foresee possible regulatory routes by building a network of protein interactions and performing analysis of functional enrichment. Concurrently, we validate the core biological functions of DDX23 through in vitro experiments. DDX23 demonstrates markedly increased expression across a majority types of cancer, and its overexpression is strongly tied to a negative patient outcome. The level of DDX23 expression is closely linked to tumor mutational burden and the presence of infiltrating immune cells. Functional enrichment analysis indicates that DDX23 primarily participates in pathways related to RNA splicing and cell proliferation. In breast cancer (BRCA) tissue, DDX23 expression is notably higher than in normal breast tissue. In vitro experiments provide additional confirmation that DDX23 substantially boosts breast cancer cells’ ability to proliferate, invade, and migrate. In this investigation, DDX23 has been identified as a crucial biological marker for forecasting survival outcomes and immunological overview in patients with various types of cancer. It clarifies its specific expression pattern and oncogenic function in BRCA, providing crucial evidence for its clinical application in BRCA-targeted therapy and highlighting its translational potential. Keywords Pan-cancer, DDX23, Prognosis, Tumor immunity Cancer represents a substantial threat to human health, marked by increasing rates of occurrence and death, thereby posing a substantial challenge to global public health1. Despite clinical applications such as surgery, chemoradiotherapy, and targeted therapies improving survival outcomes for some patients, the complex pathogenic mechanisms of cancer, significant tumor heterogeneity, and treatment resistance continue to hinder the development of curative solutions2. Tumor progression is not only directly linked to molecular abnormalities within cancer cells, but also co-regulated by multiple factors within the tumor microenvironment (TME), such as immune cell infiltration and changes in the stromal structure3. In recent years, rapid advancements in bioinformatics and the deep integration of multi-omics data have provided powerful tools for identifying core regulatory genes in cancer and screening biomarkers with both diagnostic and therapeutic value. The discovery of these novel markers has injected new momentum into the development of precision oncology. DEAD-box helicase 23 (DDX23), known alternatively as PRP28 or U5-100KD, functions as a crucial ATPdependent RNA helicases within the DEAD-box protein family4,5. This gene’s improper expression is tightly connected to dysfunction and the development of many types of human cancers. DDX23 is an essential part of the U5 snRNP complex, crucial for precursor mRNA splicing6. DDX23 affects tumor cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and drug resistance by altering various cancer-related pathways, including PI3K/Akt and Notch pathways7,8. DDX23 is localized to the 12q13.12 chromosomal locus, and its protein consists of 820 amino 1Department of Breast Surgery, Center of Digestive and Vascular, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjian

FAQs

What is the main focus regarding DDX23 in this study?

The study evaluates DDX23 expression across a pan-cancer spectrum and determines its prognostic and immuno-related value, with further validation in breast cancer.

Which databases were used to analyze DDX23 across cancers?

TCGA and GEO were used to examine DDX23 expression patterns, assess prognostic/protective associations, and support validation across multiple cancer datasets and cell lines.

How was DDX23 further validated experimentally?

Core biological functions of DDX23 were validated through in vitro experiments that test its effects on breast cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and migration.

Sep 22, 2026

Upload by Levi