Identification of a novel prognostic cuproptosis-associated LncRNA signature for predicting prognosis and immunotherapy response in patients with esophageal cancer
Xinhai Sun,
Liming Li,
Xiaojie Yang,
Dan Ke,
Qihong Zhong,
Yuanchang Zhu,
Litao Yang,
Zhenyang Zhang,
Jiangbo Lin
Affiliations
Xinhai Sun
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fujian Institute of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China
Liming Li
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fujian Institute of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China
Xiaojie Yang
Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
Dan Ke
Heilongjiang Key Laboratory of tissue damage and repair, College of life sciences, Mudanjiang Medical University, Mudanjiang, China
Qihong Zhong
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fujian Institute of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China
Yuanchang Zhu
Department of Colorectal Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China
Litao Yang
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Baoji Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shaanxi, China
Zhenyang Zhang
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fujian Institute of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China; Corresponding author. Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fujian Institute of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, No.29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou, 350001, China.
Jiangbo Lin
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fujian Institute of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou, China; Corresponding author. Department of Thoracic Surgery, Fujian Institute of Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, No.29 Xinquan Road, Fuzhou, 350001, China.
Nowadays, effective prognostic models for esophageal cancer (ESCA) are still lacking. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly utilized as indicators for diagnosing cancer and forecasting patient outcomes. Cuproptosis is regulated by multiple genes and is crucial to the progression of ESCA. However, it is not yet clear what role the cuproptosis-associated lncRNAs (CuALs) play in ESCA. To tackle this problem, a prognostic signature incorporating three CuALs was created. This signature was constructed by the use of the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and multivariate Cox regression. Subsequently, the signature effectively stratified ESCA samples into a high-risk group and a low-risk group. Those in the low-risk group demonstrated extended overall survival (OS), as well as increased infiltration of T cells, macrophages, and NK cells, suggesting a potentially enhanced response to immunotherapy. The ROC curve analysis demonstrated that this prognostic signature outperformed conventional clinical factors in predicting patient prognosis (AUC = 0.708). K-M survival analysis and correlation analysis identified UGDH-AS1 (a CuAL) as a protective factor positively associated with patient prognosis. The results of RT-qPCR and wound healing assays indicated that UGDH-AS1 is overexpressed in ESCA and could inhibit cancer cell migration. In general, the prognostic signature of CuALs demonstrated a robust capability in forecasting the immune environment and patient prognosis, highlighting its potential as a tool for enhancing personalized treatment strategies in ESCA.
