Exploring the common targets of well-differentiated and dedifferentiated retroperitoneal liposarcoma via gene co-expression analysis

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to identify common therapeutic targets for well-differentiated and dedifferentiated retroperitoneal liposarcoma. Methods: Patient clinical data were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, and survival differences were analyzed using the log-rank test. Gene expression data were sourced from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset GSE159659, with differential gene expression analysis conducted through GEO2R. Protein-protein interaction networks were developed using STRING and Cytoscape to identify key hub genes. Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed using R, and transcription factors associated with the hub genes were predicted with TRRUST. Results: Significant survival differences were found between patients with well-differentiated and dedifferentiated retroperitoneal liposarcoma. Ninety-six differentially expressed genes with similar expression patterns were identified in both types. A protein-protein interaction network highlighted 12 hub genes and 24 transcription factors. Enrichment analysis pointed to the importance of lipid localization, storage, cytokine signaling, and metal ion absorption in both liposarcoma subtypes. Four potential therapeutic drugs were successfully predicted. Conclusion: This study identifies common molecular targets in well-differentiated and dedifferentiated retroperitoneal liposarcoma, providing new avenues for mechanistic studies and potential therapeutic development.

Keywords

• Retroperitoneal liposarcoma
• Gene co-expression analysis
• Well-differentiated liposarcoma
• Dedifferentiation liposarcoma
• Therapeutic target
• Prognosis