AUTHOR=Li Lei , Chen Sen , Tang Yueming , Wu Jie , He Yangzhige , Qiu Ling 

TITLE=Oncogene or tumor suppressor gene: An integrated pan-cancer analysis of NBPF1

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2022.950326

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2022.950326

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<p>Neuroblastoma breakpoint family, member 1 (<italic>NBPF1</italic>), appears to be a double-edged sword with regard to its role in carcinogenesis. On the one hand, the tumor-suppressing functions of <italic>NBPF1</italic> have been definitively observed in neuroblastoma, prostate cancer, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, and cervical cancer. On the other hand, there is evidence that <italic>NBPF1</italic> regulates the colony formation, invasion, and maintenance of liver cancer cells and hence functions as an oncogene. The roles of <italic>NBPF1</italic> are strictly dependent on the biological context and type of organization. However, a systematic pan-cancer analysis has thus far not been undertaken, and the significance of <italic>NBPF1</italic> in the occurrence and progression of many malignancies is uncertain. In this paper, bioinformatics techniques were employed to analyze <italic>NBPF1</italic> expression across different cancers and investigate the relationship between <italic>NBPF1</italic> and clinical features, prognosis, genetic alteration, and tumor immune microenvironment, respectively. Our results show that <italic>NBPF1</italic> is variably expressed in distinct tumor tissues and is also closely linked to clinical outcomes. In particular, compared to other tumor types, there was a strong negative correlation between <italic>NBPF1</italic> expression and various components of the tumor microenvironment in adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC). We thus developed an <italic>NBPF1</italic>-derived immune risk model based on <italic>NBPF1</italic>-related immune genes; ACC patients with a high-risk score tended to have a poorer prognosis, accompanied by immune hyporesponsiveness. <italic>NBPF1</italic> can be used as a prognostic biomarker for multiple cancers. Moreover, anti-<italic>NBPF1</italic> immunotherapy may be suitable for treating ACC patients.</p>