Identification of Critical Genes and Five Prognostic Biomarkers Associated with Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

BackgroundColorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignant tumor with high incidence and mortality worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which may function as biomarkers for CRC prognosis and therapies, and the clinical outcome in patients with CRC.Material/MethodsA total of 116 normal mucous tissue and 930 CRC tissue datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). After screening DEGs based on limma package in R. Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG enrichment analysis as well as the protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were performed to predict the function of these DEGs. Meanwhile, Cox proportional hazards regression was used to build a prognostic model of these DEGs. Then, Kaplan-Meier risk analysis was used to test the model in TCGA datasets and validation datasets.ResultsIn the present study, 300 DEGs with 100 upregulated genes and 200 downregulated genes were identified. The PPI networks including 162 DEGs and 256 nodes were constructed and 2 modules with high degree were selected. Moreover, 5 genes (MMP1, ACSL6, SMPD1, PPARGC1A, and HEPACAM2) were identified using the Cox proportional hazards stepwise regression. Kaplan-Meier risk curve in the TCGA and validation cohorts showed that high-risk group had significantly poor overall survival than the low-risk group.ConclusionsOur study provided insights into the mechanisms of CRC formation and found 5 prognostic genes, which could potentially inform further studies and clinical therapies.

Identification of Hub Genes Related to Carcinogenesis and Prognosis in Colorectal Cancer Based on Integrated Bioinformatics

“…The eight-gene signature also pushed the limitation of traditional TNM stage for prognostic prediction due to molecular heterogeneity in CRC. Currently, several gene signatures have been reported for prognostic prediction of CRC [63][64][65][66]. Compared to the reported signatures, the uniqueness of this study was that LASSO regression analysis could execute feature selection and shrinkage and screen highly correlated genes, which determined the optimal genes to participate in subsequent signature building [66].…”

Systemic inflammation and risk of age-associated diseases in people living with HIV on long term suppressive antiretroviral therapy

“…Higher levels of these two proteins could be due to a favoring age-associated changes and premature aging in HIV-infected individuals with prolonged exposure to cART. The decreased expression of NT3 was also observed in colorectal cancer [39], while increased levels of plasma MMP1 have been associated with coronary atherosclerosis [40] and cancers 14 [41,42] further provide evidence to support the role of these proteins in disease development during aging.…”

Circulating lncRNA DANCR as a potential auxillary biomarker for the diagnosis and prognostic prediction of colorectal cancer

“…With advances in RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and microarray profiling techniques, a large number of abnormally expressed lncRNAs have been identified in various cancers [19]. Huang et al [20] identified hundreds of CRC-associated DEGs based on the GEO and TCGA database. An et al [21] found 35 genes that were significantly associated with patient survival based on the transcription profile of multistage carcinogenesis and bioinformatics analysis.…”