Feed

SUMOylation is implicated in the regulation of multiple malignancies. However, its potential roles in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remain insufficiently characterised. By integrating bulk RNA-seq, scRNA-seq and stRNA-seq datasets, we systematically interrogated the biological relevance of SUMOylation in HNSCC. Key markers from the signature were further validated using in vitro functional assays. A recognition model was established and validated using 692 HNSCC and 178 non-HNSCC samples. SROC analysis demonstrated robust performance across eight datasets (AUC = 0.92). Functional enrichment and scRNA-seq analyses indicated that SUMOylation may exert its effects in HNSCC primarily through cell-cycle regulation. Among the model features, SAE1 was markedly overexpressed in HNSCC (SMD = 1.07, 95% CI 0.56-1.59, p < 0.05). In vitro assays further confirmed that SAE1 enhanced proliferation, colony formation and migration in SAS and SCC-9 cells and validated its role in regulating cell cycle progression and apoptosis. We established a SUMOylation-related recognition model for HNSCC with consistently strong performance in multiple external validation cohorts. SAE1 emerges as a candidate molecular biomarker for HNSCC.