HOXA4 is a novel oncogene that has been observed in many kinds of
tumors, but its role during
glioma carcinogenesis and its clinical significance in diagnosing and prognosis human
glioma remains unknown. In the present study, the Chinese
Glioma Atlas (CGGA)-
RNA sequencing database, CGGA microarray, and The
Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-
RNA seq data from 1674
glioma patients were obtained from online databases and analyzed using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to detect changes in the expression level of HOXA4 and characterize the relationship between HOXA4 and the clinical characteristics and prognosis of patients with
glioma. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to reveal how HOXA4 regulates
tumor-related pathways. HOXA4
mRNA levels in
glioma tissue were higher than those in adjacent brain tissue. HOXA4 expression was also closely related to the clinical and molecular characteristics of
gliomas, such as
tumor grade and
isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) mutation. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that HOXA4 could regulate
cancer-related signal pathways, such as Cell cycle,
Cell adhesion molecules cams, and JAK/STAT signaling pathway. Results of in vitro experiments confirmed that knockdown of HOXA4 blocks the cell cycle pathway and inhibits the proliferation, invasion and
chemotherapy resistance in
gliomas. We concluded that HOXA4 was an independent risk factor for
glioma and may have clinical diagnostic potential. Meanwhile, our findings revealed that HOXA4 could be used as a
biomarker for
glioma diagnosis and treatment.