WFDC2 is a potential prognostic and immunotherapy biomarker in lung adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Objective The prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), which is the most common type of lung cancer, remains poor. Little is known about the function and mechanism of whey acidic protein four-disulfide core domain 2 (WFDC2) in LUAD. Methods In this study, we used online databases to compare WFDC2 expression between LUAD and normal tissues, to analyze the relationship between WFDC2 and overall survival, and to investigate the potential roles of WFDC2. Results We found that WFDC2 protein and mRNA expression levels were significantly higher in LUAD tissue than in normal tissue, and high WFDC2 mRNA expression was associated with better overall survival. WFDC2 mRNA expression was correlated with the mutation status of TP53. The biological function of WFDC2 was associated with the cell cycle, and low WFDC2 mRNA expression was associated with an elevated tumor mutational burden and neoantigen levels. A negative relationship was observed between WFDC2 and immune gene expression, and high WFDC2 mRNA expression was found in patients with LUAD and low programed cell death 1 mRNA expression. Conclusions We propose that WFDC2 is associated with clinical benefits of immune checkpoint inhibitors in LUAD.