The Association between HOXB7 Expression in Prostate Adenocarcinoma Tissues and Poor Prognosis of Patients

We accessed the TCGA database to analyze the HOXB7 mRNA expression in adenocarcinoma tissues of the prostate and explore its relationship with the Gleason Score, molecular characteristics of tumor tissues, patient’s lymph node metastasis status, age, race, and survival period. Meanwhile, immunohistochemistry was utilized to detect the HOXB7 expression in 10 samples of prostate adenocarcinoma tissues and nearby normal tissues. The prostate cancer tissues were classified according to the Gleason score. The analysis revealed that HOXB7 mRNA expression within the tissues of prostate adenocarcinoma was linked to the molecular characteristics of prostate adenocarcinoma tissues and the lymph node metastatic status of patients, but was independent of patient age and race. Immunohistochemistry results demonstrated that there were statistically meaningful differences in the average optical density values of HOXB7 staining between prostate adenocarcinoma tissues and adjacent tissues (t = 18.442, P < 0.001). Patients with high HOXB 7 expressions in prostate cancer tissue tended to have a poor prognosis (p = 0.0036).