Abstract: Objective To explore the expression of kinesin family member 20A (KIF20A) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its prognostic significance. Methods By using bioinformatics methods in Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA), Oncomine and The Human Protein Atlas (THPA) online analysis websites, the mRNA and protein expression information of KIF20A in HCC was analyzed based on the large cancer public data including The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The Kaplan-Meier method was used to perform patients′ survival analysis based on TCGA liver cancer data, and the survival rates were compared by log-rank method. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to investigate the expression of KIF20A and some key molecules in phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) signaling pathways. Results GEPIA retrieved 369 cases of HCC and 50 cases of normal liver tissue containing KIF20A mRNA expression information. Oncomine retrieved a total of 4 studies on KIF20A mRNA in HCC. All results showed that compared with the normal liver tissues, the mRNA expression level of KIF20A was significantly higher in HCC tissues (P<0.001; t=8.766, P＜0.001; t=24.329, P＜0.001; t=7.398, P＜0.001; t=3.191, P=0.001). Besides, THPA online analysis websites showed that KIF20A protein was low or not expressed in normal liver tissues, but it was significantly higher in HCC tissues, and this result was consistent with the mRNA analysis result. Moreover, the survival analysis found that the expression of KIF20A was correlated with the overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) of HCC patients, and the prognosis of patients with high KIF20A expression was poor (P=0.003; P<0.001). Additionally, further correlation analysis found that KIF20A gene was positively correlated with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA), AKT1, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1A) and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) genes in HCC (R=0.43, P＜0.001; R=0.29, P＜0.001; R=0.18, P＜0.001; R=0.39, P＜0.001; R=0.37, P＜0.001). Conclusion Bioinformatics analysis results indicate that KIF20A is highly expressed in HCC tissues and KIF20A is associated with the prognosis of HCC patients, the mechanism of which may be related to the regulation of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. It is worth further study in the future.

Key words: Liver neoplasms, Kinesin, Prognosis, Bioinformatics