Comprehensive Bioinformatical Analysis of Association of Igfl2 Expression and Methylation Profiles With Prognosis of Head and Neck Cancer

Abstract

Insulin-like growth factor like (IGFL) family is a gene family that contains 11 cysteine residues, including two CC mo tifs, and has structural homology with Insulin like Growth Factor (IGF) family. Expression of IGFL genes has been detected in various tissues, including fetal skin, spinal cord, cerebellum, placenta, spleen, stomach, testis, and fetal heart. The biological functions and gene interactions of IGFL molecules have not yet been fully elucidated, but they are thought to perform similar functions to IGFs due to their structural similarities with the IGF family. Therefore, it is aimed to determined the relationship between IGFL2 expression and Head and Neck Cancer (HNSC) through bioinformatical approaches. GEPIA2, UALCAN, OncoDB, Mexpress, Cancersea and Kaplan-Meier Plotter databases were used for bioinformatical analyses. Our results showed that expression of IGFL2 increased in tumor tissues especially early stages of HNSC. In addition, we detected that promotor methylation status of IGFL2 decreased in tumor tissues. Gene correlation analyses also showed that IGFL2 expression is positively correlated with gene produ cts that are responsible for the development of HNSC such as IRS1, EGFR, CDK6. As a result, IGFL2 induces tumorigenesis in early stages of HNSC and may be used as a prognostic factor in the development of HNSC. © 2025, Yuzuncu Yil Universitesi Tip Fakultesi. All rights reserved.