Development of a Novel Prognostic Model for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Insights into Immune Cell Interactions and Drug Sensitivity

Authors:
Preprint
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a highly aggressive upper gastrointestinal tumor with a 5-year survival rate of less than 20%. Therefore, developing new effective prognostic markers is of great clinical significance. In this study, we utilized datasets specific to ESCC and analyzed differentially expressed genes in each dataset. By conducting Venn analysis, we identified genes that exhibited significant differential expression across multiple datasets. Through gene interaction network analysis, we identified a core set of genes (23 genes) and established a prognostic model for ESCC using the COX algorithm (p=0.000245, 3-year AUC=0.98). The high-risk group of patients showed a significantly worse prognosis compared to the low-risk group. Furthermore, immune interaction network analysis revealed a strong association between increased risk values and an elevated presence of M2 macrophages within tumor tissues. Drug sensitivity analysis indicated that the high-risk group of patients exhibited poorer sensitivity to first-line chemotherapy drugs for ESCC. Notably, there was a significant positive correlation between the expression of core genes and immune checkpoint genes such as SIGLEC15, PDCD1LG2, and HVCR2. The high-risk group exhibits decreased Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE) values, indicating that immune checkpoint blockade therapy might result in more favorable outcomes for these individuals. The immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy may potentially yield better outcomes for these patients. In summary, through comprehensive bioinformatics analysis, we have established a highly effective prognostic model consisting of 23 genes for ESCC. An increased risk score in this model indicates a stronger infiltration of M2 macrophages and poorer sensitivity to chemotherapy drugs. Moreover, immune checkpoint blockade therapy may hold greater benefits for patients in the high-risk group.

This publication has 46 references indexed in Scilit: