Abstract
BACKGROUND: Our study intended to evaluate the prognostic value of lysyl oxidase (LOX) and its four relevant members, the lysyl oxidase-like genes (LOXL1-4), in ovarian cancer (OC) patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The Kaplan-Meier plotter (KM plotter) database was used to investigate the prognostic power of the LOX family for OC patients. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were the clinical endpoints. The prognostic roles of the LOX family in OC patients were also analyzed according to various clinicopathological characteristics, including histological subtypes, clinical stages, pathological grades, and chemotherapeutic treatments. RESULTS: Overexpression of LOX, LOXL1, LOXL2, and LOXL3 mRNA indicated poor OS and PFS in OC patients, particularly in serous and grade II + III OC patients. Overexpression of LOXL4 mRNA resulted in worse PFS in OC patients. Overexpression of LOX and LOXL1 mRNA showed worse OS and PFS in stage III + IV OC patients, and overexpression of LOXL3 mRNA indicated worse OS and PFS in stage I + II OC patients. Overexpression of LOX, LOXL3, and LOXL4 mRNA indicated worse OS and PFS among OC patients who received platinum, taxol, and taxol + platinum chemotherapy. Overexpression of LOXL1 and LOXL2 mRNA was related to lower OS and PFS in OC patients who received platinum chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: LOX, LOXL1, LOXL2, and LOXL3 may become potential predictive markers for negative outcomes in OC patients. Moreover, the LOX family can serve as new molecular predictors for the efficiency of platinum-based chemotherapy in OC patients.