TFAP2E Expression Is Associated with Survival and a Transcriptomic Pattern in Ovarian Serous Carcinoma, Supported by Hallmark and Protein-Level Characterization

Abstract

Simple Summary TFAP2E, encoding the AP-2ε transcription factor, remains poorly characterized in cancer despite the established regulatory importance of the AP-2 family. This study first evaluated tumor–normal expression differences across a pan-cancer spectrum to prioritize ovarian serous carcinoma for investigation, and then integrated transcriptomic, clinical, survival, network, pathway, multivariable, hallmark, and protein-level analyses. The GSE32062 cohort was used to assess the consistency of the main expression patterns, progression-related associations, and exploratory immune/stemness investigation. TFAP2E was consistently downregulated in ovarian tumors, whereas higher expression in cancer patients was associated with more favorable survival outcomes. Differential expression and correlation analyses identified a TFAP2E-associated pattern characterized by, e.g., GPCR- and KRAS-related ontological signals, accompanied by cancer hallmark and immunohistochemical characterization. Seven highlighted genes were retained as exploratory survival-associated candidates for further research. Collectively, the study identifies a distinct ovarian serous carcinoma transcriptomic pattern associated with TFAP2E expression and provides candidates for mechanistic and translational follow-up.