Upregulation of SOX12 is correlated with poor prognosis and immune infiltrates in skin cutaneous melanoma

Abstract Background Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) is the deadliest form skin cancer worldwide. Tumor immunotherapy has become a new strategy for tumor treatment, particularly for highly metastatic malignant tumors. However, there are no effective biomarkers for immunotherapy in patients with SKCM. As a crucial transcription factor, sex-determining region Y-box 12 ( SOX12 ) plays a critical role in tumorigenesis and malignant transformation of many malignant tumors. Because the function and mechanism of SOX12 in SKCM remain unknown, further investigation is necessary. In this study, we aimed to assess the clinical prognostic value of SOX12 in patients with SKCM. Methods The expression of SOX12 was assessed using RNA-seq data obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Subsequently, we performed Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway, Gene Set enrichment (GSEA), and Gene set variation analyse (GSVA) to further explore the functions of SOX12 . Moreover, Cox multivariate, Kaplan-Meier, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to determine the predictive value of SOX12 for SKCM. Finally, RT-qPCR, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, and immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses were used to verify the expression and clinical value of SOX12 in melanoma cell lines and tissues. Results SOX12 was highly expressed in SKCM tissue compared to that in normal tissue. Our results confirm that SOX12 expression is a potentially valuable indicator for SKCM diagnosis and prognosis. GSEA confirmed that SOX12 expression was closely associated with immune and epigenetic modifications. In addition, SOX12 may be involved in the metastasis and progression of SKCM through immunomodulation and methylation modifications. Overexpression of SOX12 in SKCM cell lines and tissues was also confirmed using RT-qPCR, HE staining, and IHC analyses. Conclusions Our research suggests that SOX12 can be used as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker and for SKCM treatment. Our results also contribute to the comprehensive understanding of SOX12 from a bioinformatics perspective and highlight its significance in SKCM diagnosis and treatment.