Bioinformatics analysis of the prognosis and biological significance of HMGB1, HMGB2, and HMGB3 in gastric cancer

High mobility group box (HMGB) consists primarily of HMGB1, HMGB2, and HMGB3 proteins. Although abnormal HMGB expression is associated with various tumors, the relationship with gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. In this study, HMGB1, HMGB2, and HMGB3 expression was analyzed using the Oncomine and TCGA databases. Correlations between HMGB1, HMGB2, and HMGB3 and clinicopathological factors were analyzed. cBioPortal was used to analyze HMGB1, HMGB2, and HMGB3 genetic alterations and its gene regulation network in GC tissue. HMGB1, HMGB2, and HMGB3 expression was higher in tumor tissues than in normal tissues, especially in GC. High HMGB1, HMGB2, and HMGB3 expression may predict a poor prognosis among patients with GC (hazard ratios [HR] = 1.90; 95% confidence interval [CI]: [1.30-2.78]) and human digestive system neoplasm (HR = 1.85; 95% CI [1.64-2.10]). These findings suggest that HMGB1, HMGB2, and HMGB3 may be useful prognostic indicators for patients with GC.