# Bioinformatics analysis to explore the potential prognostic utility of hsa-miR-103a-3p in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

## TL;DR

This study explores how hsa-miR-103a-3p might predict poor outcomes in head and neck cancer by analyzing its role and targets.

## Contribution

The study is the first to investigate the prognostic role of hsa-miR-103a-3p in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

## Key findings

- Hsa-miR-103a-3p is upregulated in HNSCC and linked to poor overall survival.
- 297 candidate target genes were identified, including HOXD10, HMGA2, and THY1.
- The miRNA is involved in cancer pathways like cAMP signaling and proteoglycans.

## Abstract

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), the seventh most common cancer globally, has not yet seen an exploration of the specific role of hsa-miR-103a-3p. This study employs integrated bioinformatics analysis to investigate the function, regulatory patterns, and prognostic significance of hsa-miR-103a-3p in HNSCC. The Kaplan-Meier database was used for pan-cancer prognostic analysis of hsa-miR-103a-3p. Expression significance was assessed using the dbDEMC and GSE124566 dataset from GEO. TargetScan, RNA22, miRDB, and miRWalk identified potential targets, while GEPIA 2.0 provided differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Functional and pathway enrichment analyses were conducted using ShinyGO and KOBAS. Elevated hsa-miR-103a-3p expression correlated with poor overall survival and was upregulated in HNSCC tissues. Integration of four target prediction tools yielded 297 candidate genes. Among them, HOXD10, HMGA2, and THY1 showed the highest expression, whereas UBL3, AMOT, and PDK4 displayed low levels. UBE2Q1, ZFPM2, and ATXN1 demonstrated the strongest accessibility to hsa-miR-103a-3p binding. Network analysis revealed interactions with transcription factors and tumor-related genes, while enrichment highlighted involvement in upstream regulators and downstream cancer-associated pathways. This study identified 297 target genes and clarified the regulatory role of hsa-miR-103a-3p through interaction networks, transcription factor associations, and pathway enrichment. These findings suggest a potential oncogenic role for hsa-miR-103a-3p in modulating the cAMP signaling pathway, proteoglycans in cancer, and related mechanisms, thereby linking its molecular regulation to poor prognosis and potential therapeutic targeting in HNSCC.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-26188-6.