FABP5 correlates with poor prognosis and promotes tumor cell growth and metastasis in cervical cancer

Fatty acid-binding protein 5 (FABP5) was found in our previous study to be a potential biomarker for lymph node metastasis of cervical cancer. However, the roles of FABP5 in cervical cancer remain unclear. In the present study, FABP5 expression was found to be significantly upregulated in cervical cancer tissues, and high FABP5 expression was significantly correlated with lymph node metastasis, lymphovascular space invasion, the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage, and tumor size. Moreover, FABP5 was an independent factor for poor prognosis in cervical cancer patients. Silencing of FABP5 inhibited cell proliferation, colony formation, cell migration, and invasion in vitro. Furthermore, FABP5 silencing significantly reduced tumor growth and lung metastases in a murine allograft model in vivo. In addition, FABP5 silencing decreased the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, these findings indicated that FABP5 plays an important role in the carcinogenesis and metastasis of cervical cancer, and FABP5 may be a novel predictor for prognostic assessment of cervical cancer patients.