已发表论文

ZHX 家族成员在食管癌预后意义的综合分析

 

Authors You Y, Li W, Ma Y, Gao L, Li T, Zhang X, Luo X

Received 25 July 2025

Accepted for publication 16 November 2025

Published 27 November 2025 Volume 2025:18 Pages 7127—7141

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S554208

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 2

Editor who approved publication: Dr Ching-Hsien Chen

Yanjie You,1,2,* Wenmei Li,3,* Yushan Ma,1,* Ling Gao,1 Tiantian Li,1 Xiaoli Zhang,1 Xiaomei Luo1 

1Department of Gastroenterology, People’s Hospital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750002, People’s Republic of China; 2Ningxia Clinical Research Institute, People’s Hospital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750002, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Blood Transfusion, People’s Hospital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750002, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Wenmei Li, Department of Blood Transfusion, People’s Hospital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Ningxia Medical University, 301 Zhengyuan North Road, Yinchuan, 750002, People’s Republic of China, Email 19995350091@163.com

Background: Zinc-finger and homeobox (ZHX) family members have been identified as valuable predictors of survival outcomes in several types of cancers. Nevertheless, the prognostic implications of ZHX factors in esophageal carcinoma (EC) remain unclear.
Materials and Methods: Bioinformatic analyses were conducted to evaluate the transcription levels of ZHX factors and their corresponding prognostic significance in EC. Immunohistochemistry was further utilized to assess the association between ZHX3 protein expression and clinicopathologic variables as well as survival outcomes in patient with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).
Results: Data from online databases showed no association between ZHX mRNA expression levels and overall survival (OS) in EC patients. However, subgroup analyses revealed significant associations between the expression of ZHX factors and survival outcomes in selected patient cohorts. Immunohistochemical analysis supported that high ZHX3 protein expression was associated with advanced histological grade and unfavorable OS in ESCC patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that ZHX3 expression was an independent prognostic predictor for patient survival.
Conclusion: These observations by means of combining bioinformatics and immunohistochemical analyses suggest that ZHX factors is involved in disease progression and may be potential biomarkers for predicting more accurate prognosis for EC patients.

Keywords: zinc-fingers and homeoboxes, esophageal carcinoma, prognosis, bioinformatics analysis, immunohistochemistry