Hypoxia-related bioinformatic signatures associated with prognosis and tumor microenvironment of pancreatic cancer: Current status, concerns, and future perspectives

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer (PC), a highly lethal tumor with nearly identical incidence and mortality rates, has become the sixth leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Hypoxia is an important malignant factor in PC, as it regulates angiogenesis, metabolic reprogramming, tumor progression, and metastasis. Disrupting the hypoxic microenvironment can enhance the efficacy of antitumor therapy and improve the prognosis of patients with PC. With the advent of bioinformatics, hypoxia-related PC models have emerged in recent years. They provide a reference for estimating the prognosis and immune microenvironment of patients with PC and identify potential biomarkers for targeting hypoxic microenvironment. However, these findings based on bioinformatic analysis may not be completely reliable without further experimental evidence and clinical cohort validation. The application of these models and biomarkers in clinical practice to predict survival time and develop anti hypoxic therapeutic strategies for patients with PC remains in its infancy. In this editorial, we review the current status of hypoxia-related prognostic models in PC, analyze their similarities and differences, discuss several existing challenges, and provide potential solutions and directions for further studies. This editorial will facilitate the optimization, validation, and determination of the molecular mechanisms of related models.