Pan-cancer analysis identifies DBF4B as an immunologic and prognostic biomarker.

Abstract

DBF4 zinc finger B (DBF4B) is a regulator of cellular CDC7 proteins, and the complex it forms with CDC7 proteins plays a key role in coordinating the initiation of DNA replication. Compared with previous DBF4B studies, this study is the first to use a publicly available database to explore DBF4B differential expression and prognosis in different cancers, as well as its association with gene mutations, molecular and immune subtypes, immune infiltration, methylation, and drug sensitivity. Our results showed that DBF4B was significantly differentially expressed in most cancer types as well as in cancers with different molecular and immune subtypes, and DBF4B was also significantly correlated with the prognosis of a subset of cancers. Furthermore, our analysis showed that DBF4B expression in liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) was associated with a variety of factors, including age, gender, race, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), presence of residual tumor, and tumor status. Elevated DBF4B expression was correlated with poorer overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and progression-free interval (PFI). especially in different clinical subtypes. In conclusion, DBF4B may be a key molecular biomarker for pan-cancer immunology and prognosis and an independent prognostic risk factor for LIHC.