Background. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most malignant tumors of the digestive system, and its treatment has rarely progressed for the last two decades. Studies on m6A regulators for the past few years have seemingly provided a novel approach for malignant tumor therapy. m6A-related factors may be potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets. This research is focused on the gene characteristics and clinical values of m6A regulators in predicting prognosis in pancreatic cancer. Methods. In our study, we obtained gene expression profiles with copy number variation (CNV) data and clinical characteristic data of 186 patients with pancreatic cancer from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) portal. Then, we determined the alteration of m6a regulators and their correlation with clinicopathological features using the log-rank tests, Cox regression model, and chi-square test. Additionally, we validated the prognostic value of m6A regulators in the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC). Results. The results suggested that pancreatic cancer patients with ALKBH5 CNV were associated with worse overall survival and disease-free survival than those with diploid genes. Additionally, upregulation of the writer gene ALKBH5 had a positive correlation with the activation of AKT pathways in the TCGA database. Conclusion. Our study not only demonstrated genetic characteristic changes of m6A-related genes in pancreatic cancer and found a strong relationship between the changes of ALKBH5 and poor prognosis but also provided a novel therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer therapy.

Background: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most malignant tumors of the digestive system and its treatment has rarely progressed for the last two decades. Studies on m6A regulators for the past few years have seemingly provided a novel approach for malignant tumor therapy. m6A-related factors may be potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets. This research is focused on the gene characteristics and clinical values of m6A regulators in predicting prognosis in pancreatic cancer. Methods: In our study, we obtained gene expression profiles with copy number variation (CNV) data and clinical characteristic data of 186 patients with pancreatic cancer from The Cancer Genome Atlas portal (TCGA). Then, we determined the alteration of m6a regulators and their correlation with clinicopathological features using the log-rank tests, Cox regression model, and chi-square test. Results: The results suggested that pancreatic cancer patients with ALKBH5 CNV were associated with worse overall survival and disease-free survival than those with diploid genes. Additionally, upregulation of the writer gene ALKBH5 had a positive correlation with the activation of AKT pathways. Conclusion: Our study not only demonstrated genetic characteristic changes of m6A-related genes in pancreatic cancer and found a strong relationship between the changes of ALKBH5 and poor prognosis but also provided a novel therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer therapy.

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Background: Although pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) are considered indolent tumors, most patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage. We aimed to establish a nomogram for clinical use to predict the survival of PNET patients using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.Methods: Based on the SEER database, 1,103 patients with PNETs were enrolled and randomly divided into training and validation sets. We performed Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazard regression analysis in the training set to evaluate the value of the prognostic factors. A nomogram was then constructed to analyze these independent prognostic factors for predicting the overall survival (OS) and specific cancer survival (CSS). C-index, calibration curve, and decision curve analysis were used to evaluate the predictive accuracy of the nomogram.Results: Age, primary site, TNM stage, grade, and surgery were associated with OS and CSS in the multivariate models. Nomograms were established depending on these risk factors and had a better discrimination power than the TMN stage. The validation techniques showed that the nomograms were able to predict the 3- and 5-year OS and CSS accurately, and also proved to be superior.Conclusions: Nomograms were established depending on these risk factors and had a better discrimination power than the TMN stage. The validation techniques showed that the nomograms were able to predict 3- and 5-year OS and CSS accurately, and also proved to be superior.

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