High expression of forkhead box M1 (FOXM1) is a poor prognostic biomarker in lung adenocarcinoma

Background Forkhead box M1 (FOXM1) is closely related to the formation and development of cancer. Because of differences in cellular origin, lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) and lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) usually exhibit different signatures. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the abnormalities of FOXM1 in the two subtypes separately. Methods Through the Oncomine and TCGA databases, we investigated the expression of FOXM1 mRNA, its prognostic value and possible mechanisms leading to its dysregulation. Furthermore, networks involving FOXM1 and its significantly altered neighboring genes were identified using the cBioPortal database. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed using DAVID. Results Expression of FOXM1 mRNA was higher in lung tumor tissues than in normal tissues, and higher in SCC tissues than in ADC tissues. FOXM1 mRNA expression was correlated with N stage, TNM stage, age, sex and smoking history in ADC, but only correlated with N stage, age and sex in SCC. Survival analysis indicated that high expression of FOXM1 mRNA resulted to poor overall survival (OS) for ADC patients, but not for SCC patients. Cox regression analysis confirmed that FOXM1 mRNA expression was an independent prognostic indicator for ADC patients, and regression analysis identified a moderately positive correlation between FOXM1 mRNA levels and copy number alterations (CNAs), but a weakly negative association with DNA methylation. FOXM1 was mainly involved in cell cycle regulation, G2/M transition, G1/S transition and p53, PI3K-Akt and TGF-beta signaling pathway. Conclusions High expression of FOXM1 mRNA might be an independent biomarker of poor OS in ADC patients.