Integrated Transcriptomics Data Reveal Nine Different Biomarkers as Potent Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Therapeutic Biomarkers: Unlocking the Potential of Computational Studies in Precision Medicine

Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is among the six most common malignant tumors of the oral cavity, accounting for about 90% of oral and oropharyngeal cancers. Despite advances in diagnosis and treatment, OSCC maintains a high mortality rate with an overall survival rate below 50%, largely due to limited understanding of its molecular mechanisms. This study aimed to identify key molecular hub genes involved in OSCC pathogenesis and potential therapeutic targets. Three RNA-sequencing datasets were analyzed using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) platform via GEO2R, revealing 7670 upregulated and 4555 downregulated Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs). Functional enrichment was performed using the DAVID database, and a Protein–Protein Interaction (PPI) network was constructed with STRING and visualized in Cytoscape using CytoHubba to identify hub genes. The top upregulated genes were TYR, DCT, TYRP1 and PMEL, while the top downregulated genes included AURKB, BUB1, TPX2, KIF20A, AURKA, DLGAP5, NCAPG, CCNB1, KIF23 and CCNB2. Survival analysis via GEPIA2 revealed that one upregulated gene (PMEL) and six downregulated genes (AURKB, BUB1, TPX2, DLGAP5, NCAPG, CCNB1) were significantly associated with OSCC patient survival. Expression validation through the Human Protein Atlas confirmed their relevance, particularly across squamous epithelial tissues. Network Analyst-based screening identified Valproic Acid as a potential therapeutic agent targeting the nine hub genes (PMEL, AURKB, BUB1, TPX2, KIF20A, AURKA, DLGAP5, NCAPG, CCNB1 and CCNB2) obtained from cytoscape. Overall, this study presents candidate genes and therapeutic targets potentially involved in OSCC progression, encouraging future in vivo investigations to validate their prognostic and therapeutic significance.