INHBA (inhibin subunit beta A) encodes a protein subunit that forms inhibin A, a glycoprotein hormone that functions as a negative feedback regulator in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis by inhibiting FSH secretion from anterior pituitary gonadotrope cells [UniProt]. The protein acts by binding to betaglycan and sequestering type II activin receptors, thereby antagonizing activin A signaling [UniProt]. INHBA plays crucial roles in cancer progression through multiple mechanisms. In colorectal cancer, elevated INHBA expression correlates with poor clinical outcomes and drives malignancy by promoting M2 macrophage polarization through the succinate/SUCNR1 axis and suppressing mitochondria-dependent ferroptosis via the mtGSH/GPX4 pathway 1. INHBA also functions as a scaffold protein, inhibiting TRIM21-mediated ubiquitination and stabilizing SLC25A10 protein 1. In osteosarcoma, INHBA promotes cell proliferation, migration, and invasion through TGF-β signaling pathway activation 2. The protein is associated with cancer-associated fibroblasts in gastric cancer 3 and contributes to immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments 4. INHBA expression serves as a potential biomarker for various cancers including preeclampsia prediction 5 and is involved in liver fibrosis through exosome-mediated hepatic stellate cell activation 6.