Ferroptosis-Related Gene BCL2L10 is Linked to Prognosis in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

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Ferroptosis-Related Gene BCL2L10 is Linked to Prognosis in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

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https://doi.org/10.54963/entu.v15i3.1450
Liu, G., Chen, Y., Xu, X., Zhu, Y., Ye, X., & Liu, S. (2025). Ferroptosis-Related Gene BCL2L10 is Linked to Prognosis in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. ENT Updates, 15(3), 49–62. https://doi.org/10.54963/entu.v15i3.1450
Volume 15 Issue 3 (2025): In Progress
Copyright (c) 2025 Guancheng Liu, Yulin Chen, Xingnong Xu, Yudi Zhu, Xing Ye, Shichao Liu
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors

  • Guancheng Liu

    International Cultural and Educational College, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
  • Yulin Chen

    College of Veterinary Medicine, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
  • Xingnong Xu

    School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
    Department of Pharmacy, Yancheng Third People’s Hospital, Yancheng 224000, China
  • Yudi Zhu

    International Cultural and Educational College, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
  • Xing Ye

    Department of Pharmacy, Taizhou Second People’s Hospital, Taizhou 225500, China
  • Shichao Liu

    College of Veterinary Medicine, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China

Ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of regulated cell death, is driven by the accumulation of lipid peroxides and shaped by mitochondrial metabolism. However, the role of BCL2L10 (B-cell lymphoma 2-like 10)—a gene previously implicated in ferroptosis—in affecting the immune microenvironment and clinical progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains unclear. Using RNA-seq data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), we compared BCL2L10 expression in HNSCC tumors and matched normal tissues and corroborated the results with immunohistochemistry images from the Human Protein Atlas (HPA). Logistic regression and Kaplan–Meier analyses were then applied to assess the relationship between BCL2L10 levels and clinical outcomes. The protein–protein interaction network centered on BCL2L10 was constructed with the STRING database, and the immunological relevance of BCL2L10 was explored through three complementary approaches: Gene Ontology (GO) annotation, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), and single-sample GSEA (ssGSEA). BCL2L10 mRNA levels were markedly higher in HNSCC tumors than in adjacent normal tissues. Nevertheless, univariate survival analysis revealed no significant difference in overall survival between patients with high versus low BCL2L10 expression (p > 0.05). Mechanistically, BCL2L11 emerged as a key interactor of BCL2L10, and tumors overexpressing BCL2L10 exhibited reduced infiltration by immune cells. Overall, elevated BCL2L10 expression in HNSCC is associated with an unfavorable prognosis and an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment.

Keywords:

BCL2L10 Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Immune Infiltration

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