We aimed to identify critical genes for metastasis and prognosis of high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). The mRNA data of GSE73064 including 15 HGSOC samples (5 primary tumor cells, 5 ascites tumor cells, and 5 metastasis tumor cells) were applied for the present analysis. The data were first preprocessed using robust multiarray average (RMA) method, and time-series gene expression analyses were performed using short time-series expression miner (version 1.3.11). Then, functional analysis for clustered genes was conducted, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed. Subnetwork module was also analyzed. After that, we analyzed the miRNA regulatory network. Finally, survival analysis was performed. In this study, PPBP, ITGB2, and ITGAM were genes with higher degrees in the PPI network. miR-4469, miR-6734-5p, and miR-1304-5p were several of important miRNAs in the miRNA-target regulatory network. In addition, survival analysis showed that nine genes such as CLEC5A, FPR1, and CXCL12 might be important for HGSOC prognosis. PPBP, ITGB2, and ITGAM may be critical for HGSOC metastasis. CLEC5A, FPR1, and CXCL12 may be important for the prognosis of HGSOC. Furthermore, miR-4469, miR-6734-5p, and miR-1304-5p may be important miRNAs associated with HGSOC.
Keywords: critical genes; high-grade serous ovarian cancer; metastasis; microRNAs; prognosis.