Background: Lower-grade gliomas (LGG) are associated with inevitable progression and poor outcomes. Kinesin family member 11 (KIF11), a motor protein driving mitotic spindle formation, is overexpressed in various cancers, yet its comprehensive prognostic and immunological significance in LGG has not been systematically evaluated. Methods: Transcriptomic data from 522 LGG samples (TCGA) and 1,152 normal brain samples (GTEx) were analyzed. Differential expression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), and immune infiltration profiling were performed. Results: KIF11 was significantly upregulated in LGG (area under the ROC curve [AUROC]=0.984). High expression correlated with tumor status but not age or sex. Elevated KIF11 was independently associated with worse overall survival (OS) (HR=1.87, p<0.05), disease-specific survival (hazard ratio [HR]=1.55, p<0.05), and progression-free interval (HR=2.02, p<0.05). GSEA identified enrichment of mitotic chromosome segregation and cell cycle pathways. A significant positive correlation was observed between KIF11 expression and type 2 helper T cell infiltration (r=0.624, p<0.001). Conclusions: KIF11 is identified as a prognostic biomarker in LGG, with elevated expression linked to adverse outcomes, cell cycle dysregulation, and potential modulation of the immune microenvironment. These findings may inform risk stratification and therapeutic development.
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Zhu, X., Lv, Q. (2026) KIF11 as a Potential Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarker for Lower-grade Glioma. Journal of Disease and Public Health, 2(2), 7-21.
