F-box protein 28 serves as a prognostic and predictive biomarker for gastric cancer.

[BACKGROUND] F-box protein 28 (FBXO28) plays a role in several malignancies; however, its association with gastric cancer (GC) remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the effects of FBXO28 on GC by bioinformatics analysis and molecular biology.

[METHODS] The expression of FBXO28 in GC was discovered. The probable roles of FBXO28 in the proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of GC cells were explored. To further study the possible mechanism, western blotting was conducted to evaluate whether FBXO28 was involved in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MAPK/ERK) pathway. The GSE62254 dataset and 213 clinical samples were used to explore the connection between FBXO28 and the clinicopathological features of GC.

[RESULTS] Based on bioinformatics analysis, FBXO28 messenger RNA (mRNA) was found to be highly expressed in GC. However, compared with normal tissues, GC tissues had lower levels of FBXO28 expression. The cell experiments showed that FBXO28 played an anti-tumor role in GC cells. The pathway analysis results illustrated that FBXO28 could affect the EMT and the MAPK/ERK pathway. Furthermore, there was a correlation between FBXO28 and GC's clinicopathological features, and FBXO28 serves as an independent predictor of the prognosis.

[CONCLUSIONS] FBXO28 played a tumor-suppressive role in GC cells and was related to the EMT process. Patients with GC with a better prognosis expressed higher levels of FBXO28.