Objective Exploring the role and clinical value of tRNA methyltransferase 61A (TRMT61A) expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Methods This study analyzed the expression levels of TRMT61A across various cancer tissues and specifically in HNSCC tissues compared to normal head and neck tissues using the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The expression level and prognostic characteristics of TRMT61A in patients with HNSCC were investigated. Furthermore, the proliferation and colony-formation ability of an HNSCC cell line following TRMT61A knockdown was assessed using Western blot, cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), and colony-formation assays.

Results TRMT61A was highly expressed in HNSCC tissues, and its elevated expression significantly correlated with reduced overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and disease-specific survival (DSS) in patients. In vitro experiments demonstrated that knocking down TRMT61A suppressed proliferation and the colony-forming ability of HNSCC cells.

Conclusions  TRMT61A plays an important role in tumor progression in HNSCC. Targeting TRMT61A expression is a promising approach to affect tumor cell proliferation in HNSCC and is expected to become an effective prognostic indicator for patients with HNSCC. Thus, TRMT61A is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of HNSCC.