Abstract 4848: The functional synergism and pro-metastatic role of FOXM1 and CENPF in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide and metastasis is regarded as the major cause of HCC-associated lethality. In this study, we have analysed the TCGA whole-transcriptome sequencing data of paired human HCC samples (n=50), and identified Forkhead Box M1 (FOXM1) and Centromere Protein F (CENPF) to be the top-listing upregulated genes. Interestingly, both of them are the essential components in cell-cycle progression. FOXM1 encodes for the cell-cycle-dependent transcription factor that regulates genes for DNA replication and mitosis, while CENPF encodes for the centromere protein that is required for kinetochore function and chromosome segregation in mitosis. We hypothesized that the upregulation of FOXM1-CENPF signaling axis may drive hepatocarcinogenesis. In our human HCC cohort (n=34), FOXM1 and CENPF were shown to be upregulated compared with the non-tumorous liver tissues, and their mRNA expressions were positively correlated (p