Development and validation of a risk signature based on disulidptosis-related ferroptosis genes in ovarian cancer.

Background: Disulfidptosis and ferroptosis, newly identified forms of cell death, have attracted widespread attention; however, their relationship with ovarian cancer (OC) prognosis remains unclear.

Methods: We constructed a multivariate Cox risk signature comprising three key genes: CREB3, PIEZO1, and SLC7A11. Patients were stratified into high- and low-risk groups based on the optimal cutoff value of the risk score. Subsequently, survival analysis was conducted in the training group (TCGA-OV) and external databases (GSE26712 and GSE63885), with the predictive efficiency of the risk signature evaluated through ROC curves.

Results: Prognosis was significantly better for patients in the low-risk group than in the high-risk group. Compared to single clinical features such as age and stage, the risk score had the highest diagnostic value for prognostic evaluation. Based on gene function and pathway analyses, differential genes were found to be related to oxidative stress. Immune infiltration analysis indicated that risk scores were associated with immunosuppressive cells such as M2 macrophages. Finally, the protein expression levels of the key gene CREB3 in OC tissues were evaluated in vitro.

Conclusion: This study might provide significant value for exploring the relationship between disulfidptosis-related ferroptosis genes and OC, and its results may provide insights on new therapeutic targets for OC.