A Novel Ferroptosis-Related Long Non-coding RNA Prognostic Risk Model for Gastric Cancer

Abstract

Background：Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common malignant tumors with a poor prognosis. Ferroptosis is a novel and distinct type of non-apoptotic cell death that is closely associated with metabolism, redox biology, and tumor prognosis. Recently, ferroptosis-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have received increasing attention in predicting cancer prognosis. Thus, we aimed to construct an ferroptosis-related lncRNAs signature for predicting the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer.Methods：We built an ferroptosis-related lncRNA risk signature by using Cox regression based on TCGA database. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was conducted to compare the overall survival (OS) in different risk groups. Cox regression was performed to explore whether the signature could be used as an independent factor. A nomogram was built involving the risk score and clinicopathological features. Furthermore, we explored the biological functions and immune states in two groups.Results：Eight ferroptosis-related lncRNAs were obtained for constructing the prognosis model in gastric cancer. Kaplan–Meier curve analysis revealed that patients in the high-risk group had worse survival than those in the low-risk group. The survival outcome was also appropriate for subgroup analysis, including age, sex, grade, and clinical stage. Multivariate Cox regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis demonstrated that the risk score was an independent prognostic factor and superior to traditional clinicopathological features in predicting GC prognosis. Next, we established a nomogram according to clinical parameters (age, sex, grade, and clinical stage) and risk score. All the verified results, including ROC curve analysis, calibration curve, and decision curve analysis, demonstrated that the nomogram could accurately predict the survival of patients with gastric cancer. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that these lncRNAs were mainly involved in cell adhesion, cancer pathways, and immune function regulation.Conclusion: We established a novel ferroptosis-related prognostic risk signature including eight lncRNAs and constructed a nomogram to predict the prognosis of gastric cancer patients, which may improve prognostic predictive accuracy and guide individualized treatment for patients with GC.