Guanylate-binding protein 6 is a novel biomarker for tumorigenesis and prognosis in tongue squamous cell carcinoma

Objectives Guanylate-binding protein 6 (GBP6) is a member of the guanylate-binding protein family, and its role in cancer has not yet been reported. We aimed to investigate the clinical significance of GBP6 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Materials and methods Next-generation sequencing was applied for analyzing differential gene expression profiling between corresponding tumor adjacent normal (CTAN) and tumor tissue from two paired OSCC patients. Real-time PCRs (RT-PCRs) were used to investigate the gene expression level of GBP6 of CTAN and tumor tissue samples from 14 TSCC patients. Immunohistochemistry was used to investigate the protein expression level of GBP6 in tumor tissues and paired CTAN tissues from 488 OSCC patients, including 183 buccal mucosa squamous cell carcinoma (BMSCC), 245 tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC), and 60 lip squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) patients. Results Compared with CTAN tissues of OSCC patients, GBP6 is identified as a downregulated gene using the NGS platform, which was confirmed in 14 OSCC patients by RT-PCR. Moreover, protein expression level of GBP6 in tumor tissues was lower than that in CTAN tissues and the low GBP6 expression was correlated with poor cell differentiation/lymph node metastasis in TSCC patients. In addition, TSCC patients with low expression levels of GBP6 had poor disease-specific survival rate. Conclusion The low expression of GBP6 was associated with tumorigenesis and poor prognosis in OSCC patients, especially in TSCC patients. Clinical relevance GBP6 may serve as a novel favorable diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in TSCC patients.