Identification of hub genes predicting sensitivity to neoadjuvant chemoradiation in locally advanced rectal cancer.

IF 2.2 4区医学 Q3 ONCOLOGY

Radiology and Oncology Pub Date : 2025-08-06 eCollection Date: 2025-09-01 DOI:10.2478/raon-2025-0005

Qunye Zhao, Chuang Zhang, Xiaotain Zhang, Yanlong Liu, Binbin Cui

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Preoperative neoadjuvant chemoradiation (NACR) benefits disease control in most locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients. However, effective biomarkers predicting response to NACR are still not accessible. This study aimed to find potential biomarkers to assess therapy response and susceptibility to LARC.

Materials and methods: Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between NACR-sensitive and resistant patients were screened using GEO database. STRING and Cytoscape were utilized to construct PPI networks and identify hub genes. Based on CIBERSORT, TCGA, GTEx, GSEA and ROC curves, the connections between hub genes and specific signaling pathways, immune cell infiltration, prognosis value and miRNA-transcription factor (TF)-target network were investigated. Human Protein Atlas (HPA) database was used to visualize hub gene expression in clinical samples.

Results: We identified 2619 up- and 2466 down-regulated genes between NACR-sensitive and resistant patients. The up-regulated DEGs were searched for highly expressed genes in the NACR-resistant, TCGA and GTEx-related datasets compared to the NACR-sensitive group, yielding six hub genes (RRM2, HNRNPL, EZH2, METTL1, NHP2L1 and ASF1B). ROC curves demonstrated the predictive utility of the six genes in NACR sensitivity. Immune infiltration research revealed no significant relationship between NACR sensitivity and immune cell infiltration extent. The miRNA-TF-target network of hub genes was established. Finally, HPA database results showed that six genes were expressed at variable levels in rectal cancer patients.

Conclusions: This study identified six hub genes (RRM2, HNRNPL, EZH2, METTL1, NHP2L1 and ASF1B) up-regulated in LARC and valuable for predicting patient susceptibility and response to NACR.

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预测局部晚期直肠癌新辅助放化疗敏感性的枢纽基因的鉴定。

背景：术前新辅助放化疗（NACR）有利于大多数局部晚期直肠癌（LARC）患者的疾病控制。然而，预测NACR反应的有效生物标志物仍然无法获得。本研究旨在寻找潜在的生物标志物来评估LARC的治疗反应和易感性。材料和方法：使用GEO数据库筛选nacr敏感和耐药患者之间的差异表达基因（DEGs）。利用STRING和Cytoscape构建PPI网络并鉴定中心基因。基于CIBERSORT、TCGA、GTEx、GSEA及ROC曲线，探讨中枢基因与特异性信号通路、免疫细胞浸润、预后价值及mirna -转录因子(TF)-靶标网络的关系。人类蛋白图谱（Human Protein Atlas， HPA）数据库用于可视化临床样本中枢纽基因的表达。结果：我们在nacr敏感和耐药患者之间鉴定了2619个上调和2466个下调基因。与nacr敏感组相比，在nacr耐药、TCGA和gtex相关数据集中搜索上调的deg中高表达的基因，得到6个中心基因（RRM2、HNRNPL、EZH2、METTL1、NHP2L1和ASF1B）。ROC曲线显示了6个基因对NACR敏感性的预测效用。免疫浸润研究显示NACR敏感性与免疫细胞浸润程度无显著关系。中枢基因mirna - tf靶点网络建立。最后，HPA数据库结果显示，6个基因在直肠癌患者中以不同水平表达。结论：本研究发现6个中心基因（RRM2、HNRNPL、EZH2、METTL1、NHP2L1和ASF1B）在LARC中上调，对预测患者对NACR的易感性和反应有价值。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Radiology and Oncology ONCOLOGY-RADIOLOGY, NUCLEAR MEDICINE & MEDICAL IMAGING

CiteScore

4.40

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

>12 weeks

期刊介绍： Radiology and Oncology is a multidisciplinary journal devoted to the publishing original and high quality scientific papers and review articles, pertinent to diagnostic and interventional radiology, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, radiotherapy, clinical and experimental oncology, radiobiology, medical physics and radiation protection. Therefore, the scope of the journal is to cover beside radiology the diagnostic and therapeutic aspects in oncology, which distinguishes it from other journals in the field.