A Novel Ferroptosis-Related Gene Signature Predicts Recurrence in Patients With Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Identification of a novel five ferroptosis-related gene signature as a promising prognostic model for breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Breast cancer (BCa) is a major challenge for women's health worldwide. Ferroptosis is closely related to tumorigenesis and cancer progression. However, the prognostic value of ferroptosis-related genes in BCa remains unclear, and more accurate prognostic models are urgently needed.

METHODS

Gene expression profiles and clinical information of BCa patients were collected from public databases. LASSO and multivariate Cox regression analysis were utilized to construct the prognostic gene signature. Kaplan-Meier plotter, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and nomogram were used to validate the prognostic value of the gene signature. Gene set enrichment analysis was performed to explore the molecular functions and signaling pathways.

RESULTS

Differentially expressed ferroptosis-related genes between BCa samples and normal tissues were obtained. A novel five-gene signature including BCL2, SLC40A1, TFF1, APOOL, and PRAME was established for prognosis prediction. Patients stratified into high-risk or low-risk group displayed significantly different survival. Kaplan-Meier and ROC curves showed a good performance for survival prediction in different cohorts. Biological function analysis revealed that the five-gene signature was associated with cancer progression, immune infiltration, immune response, and drug resistance. Nomogram including the five-gene signature was established.

CONCLUSION

A novel five ferroptosis-related gene signature and nomogram could be used for prognostic prediction in BCa.

Genome, Metabolism, or Immunity: Which Is the Primary Decider of Pancreatic Cancer Fate through Non-Apoptotic Cell Death?

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a solid tumor characterized by poor prognosis and resistance to treatment. Resistance to apoptosis, a cell death process, and anti-apoptotic mechanisms, are some of the hallmarks of cancer. Exploring non-apoptotic cell death mechanisms provides an opportunity to overcome apoptosis resistance in PDAC. Several recent studies evaluated ferroptosis, necroptosis, and pyroptosis as the non-apoptotic cell death processes in PDAC that play a crucial role in the prognosis and treatment of this disease. Ferroptosis, necroptosis, and pyroptosis play a crucial role in PDAC development via several signaling pathways, gene expression, and immunity regulation. This review summarizes the current understanding of how ferroptosis, necroptosis, and pyroptosis interact with signaling pathways, the genome, the immune system, the metabolism, and other factors in the prognosis and treatment of PDAC.

An Inflammatory Response Related Gene Signature Associated with Survival Outcome and Gemcitabine Response in Patients with Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive tumors with an extremely low 5-year survival rate. Accumulating evidence has unveiled that inflammatory response promotes tumor progression, enhances angiogenesis, and causes local immunosuppression. Herein, we aim to develop an inflammatory related prognostic signature, and found it could be used to predict gemcitabine response in PDAC.

Methods: PDAC cohorts with mRNA expression profiles and clinical information were systematically collected from the four public databases. An inflammatory response related genes (IRRGs) prognostic signature was constructed by LASSO regression analysis. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis, receiver operating characteristic analysis, principal component analysis, and univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were carried out to evaluate effectiveness, and reliability of the signature. The correlation between gemcitabine response and risk score was evaluated in the TCGA-PAAD cohort. The GDSC database, pRRophetic algorithm, and connectivity map analysis were used to predict gemcitabine sensitivity and identify potential drugs for the treatment of PDAC. Finally, we analyzed differences in frequencies of gene mutations, infiltration of immune cells, as well as biological functions between different subgroups divided by the prognostic signature.

Results: We established a seven IRRGs (ADM, DCBLD2, EREG, ITGA5, MIF, TREM1, and BTG2) signature which divided the PDAC patients into low- and high-risk groups. Prognostic value of the signature was validated in 11 PDAC cohorts consisting of 1337 PDAC patients from 6 countries. A nomogram that integrated the IRRGs signature and clinicopathologic factors of PDAC patients was constructed. The risk score showed positive correlation with gemcitabine resistance. Two drugs (BMS-536924 and dasatinib) might have potential therapeutic implications in high-risk PDAC patients. We found that the high-risk group had higher frequencies of KRAS, TP53, and CDKN2A mutations, increased infiltration of macrophages M0, neutrophils, and macrophages M2 cells, as well as upregulated hypoxia and glycolysis pathways, while the low-risk group had increased infiltration of CD8⁺ T, naïve B, and plasma and macrophages M1 cells.

Conclusion: We constructed and validated an IRRGs signature that could be used to predict the prognosis and gemcitabine response of patients with PDAC, as well as two drugs (BMS-536924 and dasatinib) may contribute to PDAC treatment.