scholarly journals Identification of immune-related subtypes of colorectal cancer to improve antitumor immunotherapy

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaobo Zheng ◽  
Yong Gao ◽  
Chune Yu ◽  
Guiquan Fan ◽  
Pengwu Li ◽  
...  

AbstractImmunotherapy involving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for enhancing immune system activation is promising for tumor management. However, the patients’ responses to ICIs are different. Here, we applied a non-negative matrix factorization algorithm to establish a robust immune molecular classification system for colorectal cancer (CRC). We obtained data of 1503 CRC patients (training cohort: 488 from The Cancer Genome Atlas; validation cohort: 1015 from the Gene Expression Omnibus). In the training cohort, 42.8% of patients who exhibited significantly higher immunocyte infiltration and enrichment of immune response-associated signatures were subdivided into immune classes. Within the immune class, 53.1% of patients were associated with a worse overall prognosis and belonged to the immune-suppressed subclass, characterized by the activation of stroma-related signatures, genes, immune-suppressive cells, and signaling. The remaining immune class patients belonged to the immune-activated subclass, which was associated with a better prognosis and response to anti-PD-1 therapy. Immune-related subtypes were associated with different copy number alterations, tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte enrichment, PD-1/PD-L1 expression, mutation landscape, and cancer stemness. These results were validated in patients with microsatellite instable CRC. We described a novel immune-related class of CRC, which may be used for selecting candidate patients with CRC for immunotherapy and tailoring optimal immunotherapeutic treatment.

BMC Cancer ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojie Wang ◽  
Qian Yu ◽  
Waleed M. Ghareeb ◽  
Yiyi Zhang ◽  
Xingrong Lu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background SPINK4 is known as a gastrointestinal peptide in the gastrointestinal tract and is abundantly expressed in human goblet cells. The clinical significance of SPINK4 in colorectal cancer (CRC) is largely unknown. Methods We retrieved the expression data of 1168 CRC patients from 3 Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets (GSE24551, GSE39582, GSE32323) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to compare the expression level of SPINK4 between CRC tissues and normal colorectal tissues and to evaluate its value in predicting the survival of CRC patients. At the protein level, these results were further confirmed by data mining in the Human Protein Atlas and by immunohistochemical staining of samples from 81 CRC cases in our own center. Results SPINK4 expression was downregulated in CRC compared with that in normal tissues, and decreased SPINK4 expression at both the mRNA and protein levels was associated with poor prognosis in CRC patients from all 3 GEO datasets, the TCGA database and our cohort. Additionally, lower SPINK4 expression was significantly related to higher TNM stage. Moreover, in multivariate regression, SPINK4 was confirmed as an independent indicator of poor survival in CRC patients in all databases and in our own cohort. Conclusions We concluded that reduced expression of SPINK4 relates to poor survival in CRC, functioning as a novel indicator.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deming Liu ◽  
Xue Xiang ◽  
Yaqiong Chen ◽  
Yajun Jiao ◽  
Liuli Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: Immunotherapy has improved the prognosis of cancer patients who did not benefit from conventional treatment and decreased mortality, which has become an effective treatment for multiple carcinomas in their advanced stages. Patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) were mostly in the state of mismatch repair-proficient or microsatellite stability, with limited benefit in immunotherapy. Hence, immunotherapy strategies for CRC still need to be explored continuously. Methods: Based on comprehensive analysis of the immune infiltration associated genes in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and differential genes for the progression and metastasis of CRC in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, as well as validation analysis on several online databases, we obtained two genes (KCNE4 and DNASE1L3) as novel immune-related molecules for CRC. Results: High expression of KCNE4 and DNASE1L3 were significantly correlated with CRC progression and prognosis, and were strongly associated with the infiltration of different types of macrophages in the CRC tumor microenvironment. In addition, we analysed the guidance value of KCNE4 and DNASE1L3 in anti-PD-1 therapy using data from the IMvigor210 group, and predicted the significant value of KCNE4 and DNASE1L3 in CRC immunotherapy by analyzing the correlation of KCNE4 and DNASE1L3 with the expression of CRC immune checkpoint markers. Conclusions: We hypothesized that DNASE1L3 and KCNE4 would be potential prognostic biomarkers and predictors of immunotherapy in CRC. Our results may serve as an indication of survival prognosis and provide a new assessment indicator for the choice of immunotherapy for CRC patients.


Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojuan Zhao ◽  
Jianzhong Liu ◽  
Shuzhen Liu ◽  
Fangfang Yang ◽  
Erfei Chen

Growing evidence has indicated that prognostic biomarkers have a pivotal role in tumor and immunity biological processes. TP53 mutation can cause a range of changes in immune response, progression, and prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Thus, we aim to build an immunoscore prognostic model that may enhance the prognosis of CRC from an immunological perspective. We estimated the proportion of immune cells in the GSE39582 public dataset using the CIBERSORT (Cell type identification by estimating relative subset of known RNA transcripts) algorithm. Prognostic genes that were used to establish the immunoscore model were generated by the LASSO (Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) Cox regression model. We established and validated the immunoscore model in GEO (Gene Expression Omnibus) and TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) cohorts, respectively; significant differences of overall survival analysis were found between the low and high immunoscore groups or TP53 subgroups. In the multivariable Cox analysis, we observed that the immunoscore was an independent prognostic factor both in the GEO cohort (HR (Hazard ratio) 1.76, 95% CI (confidence intervals): 1.26–2.46) and the TCGA cohort (HR 1.95, 95% CI: 1.20–3.18). Furthermore, we established a nomogram for clinical application, and the results suggest that the nomogram is a better predictive model for prognosis than immunoscore or TNM staging.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan D. Seligson ◽  
Richard D. Maradiaga ◽  
Colin M. Stets ◽  
Howard M. Katzenstein ◽  
Sherri Z. Millis ◽  
...  

AbstractSarcomas harboring EWSR1-NFATc2 fusions have historically been categorized and treated as Ewing sarcoma. Emerging evidence suggests unique molecular characteristics and chemotherapy sensitivities in EWSR1-NFATc2 fusion positive sarcomas. Comprehensive genomic profiles of 1024 EWSR1 fusion positive sarcomas, including 14 EWSR1-NFATc2 fusions, were identified in the FoundationCore® database. Additional data from the Gene Expression Omnibus, the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer and The Cancer Genome Atlas datasets were included for analysis. EWSR1-NFATc2 fusion positive sarcomas were genomically distinct from traditional Ewing sarcoma and demonstrated upregulation of the mTOR pathway. We also present a case of a 58-year-old male patient with metastatic EWSR1-NFATc2 fusion positive sarcoma who achieved 47 months of disease stabilization when treated with combination mTOR and VEGF inhibition. EWSR1-NFATc2 fusion positive sarcomas are molecularly distinct entities with overactive mTOR signaling; which may be therapeutically targetable. These findings support the use of precision medicine in the Ewing family of tumors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ritu Pandey ◽  
Muhan Zhou ◽  
Shariful Islam ◽  
Baowei Chen ◽  
Natalie K Barker ◽  
...  

AbstractWe investigated biomarker CEACAM6, a highly abundant cell surface adhesion receptor that modulates the extracellular matrix (ECM) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA). The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) RNA-Seq data from PDA patients were analyzed for CEACAM6 expression and evaluated for overall survival, association, enrichment and correlations. A CRISPR/Cas9 Knockout (KO) of CEACAM6 in PDA cell line for quantitative proteomics, mitochondrial bioenergetics and tumor growth in mice were conducted. We found CEACAM6 is over-expressed in primary and metastatic basal and classical PDA subtypes. Highest levels are in classical activated stroma subtype. CEACAM6 over-expression is universally a poor prognostic marker in KRAS mutant and wild type PDA. High CEACAM6 expression is associated with low cytolytic T-cell activity in both basal and classical PDA subtypes and correlates with low levels of T-REG markers. In HPAF-II cells knockout of CEACAM6 alters ECM-cell adhesion, catabolism, immune environment, transmembrane transport and autophagy. CEACAM6 loss increases mitochondrial basal and maximal respiratory capacity. HPAF-II CEACAM6−/− cells are growth suppressed by >65% vs. wild type in mice bearing tumors. CEACAM6, a key regulator affects several hallmarks of PDA including the fibrotic reaction, immune regulation, energy metabolism and is a novel therapeutic target in PDA.


2017 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Manish R. Sharma ◽  
James T. Auman ◽  
Nirali M. Patel ◽  
Juneko E. Grilley-Olson ◽  
Xiaobei Zhao ◽  
...  

Purpose A 73-year-old woman with metastatic colon cancer experienced a complete response to chemotherapy with dose-intensified irinotecan that has been durable for 5 years. We sequenced her tumor and germ line DNA and looked for similar patterns in publicly available genomic data from patients with colorectal cancer. Patients and Methods Tumor DNA was obtained from a biopsy before therapy, and germ line DNA was obtained from blood. Tumor and germline DNA were sequenced using a commercial panel with approximately 250 genes. Whole-genome amplification and exome sequencing were performed for POLE and POLD1. A POLD1 mutation was confirmed by Sanger sequencing. The somatic mutation and clinical annotation data files from the colon (n = 461) and rectal (n = 171) adenocarcinoma data sets were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas data portal and analyzed for patterns of mutations and clinical outcomes in patients with POLE- and/or POLD1-mutated tumors. Results The pattern of alterations included APC biallelic inactivation and microsatellite instability high (MSI-H) phenotype, with somatic inactivation of MLH1 and hypermutation (estimated mutation rate > 200 per megabase). The extremely high mutation rate led us to investigate additional mechanisms for hypermutation, including loss of function of POLE. POLE was unaltered, but a related gene not typically associated with somatic mutation in colon cancer, POLD1, had a somatic mutation c.2171G>A [p.Gly724Glu]. Additionally, we noted that the high mutation rate was largely composed of dinucleotide deletions. A similar pattern of hypermutation (dinucleotide deletions, POLD1 mutations, MSI-H) was found in tumors from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Conclusion POLD1 mutation with associated MSI-H and hyper-indel–hypermutated cancer genome characterizes a previously unrecognized variant of colon cancer that was found in this patient with an exceptional response to chemotherapy.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-Cheng Wang ◽  
Ya Liu ◽  
Fei-Wu Long ◽  
Liang-Ren Liu ◽  
Chuan-Wen Fan

Background: The relationship between long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and the mRNA stemness index (mRNAsi) in colorectal cancer (CRC) is still unclear. Materials & methods: The mRNAsi, mRNAsi-related lncRNAs and their clinical significance were analyzed by bioinformatic approaches in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-COREAD dataset. Results: mRNAsi was negatively related to pathological features but positively related to overall survival and recurrence-free survival in CRC. A five mRNAsi-related lncRNAs prognostic signature was further developed and showed independent prognostic factors related to overall survival in CRC patients, due to the five mRNAsi-related lncRNAs involved in several pathways of the cancer stem cells and malignant cancer cell phenotypes. Conclusion: The present study highlights the potential roles of mRNAsi-related lncRNAs as alternative prognostic markers.


Author(s):  
Siteng Chen ◽  
Ning Zhang ◽  
Encheng Zhang ◽  
Tao Wang ◽  
Liren Jiang ◽  
...  

The important role of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation regulator in carcinogenesis and progression of clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is poorly understood by now. In this study, we performed comprehensive analyses of m6A RNA methylation regulators in 975 ccRCC samples and 332 adjacent normal tissues and identified ccRCC-related m6A regulators. Moreover, the m6A diagnostic score based on ccRCC-related m6A regulators could accurately distinguish ccRCC from normal tissue in the Meta-cohort, which was further validated in the independent GSE-cohort and The Cancer Genome Atlas-cohort, with an area under the curve of 0.924, 0.867, and 0.795, respectively. Effective survival prediction of ccRCC by m6A risk score was also identified in the Cancer Genome Atlas training cohort and verified in the testing cohort and the independent GSE22541 cohort, with hazard ratio values of 3.474, 1.679, and 2.101 in the survival prognosis, respectively. The m6A risk score was identified as a risk factor of overall survival in ccRCC patients by the univariate Cox regression analysis, which was further verified in both the training cohort and the independent validation cohort. The integrated nomogram combining m6A risk score and predictable clinicopathologic factors could accurately predict the survival status of the ccRCC patients, with an area under the curve values of 85.2, 82.4, and 78.3% for the overall survival prediction in 1-, 3- and 5-year, respectively. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis with functional enrichment analysis indicated that m6A RNA methylation might affect clinical prognosis through regulating immune functions in patients with ccRCC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Han ◽  
Biao Huang ◽  
Xiao-Yu Zhao ◽  
Guo-Liang Shen

Abstract Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) is one of the most deadly malignancies. Although immunotherapies showed the potential to improve the prognosis for metastatic melanoma patients, only a small group of patients can benefit from it. Therefore, it is urgent to investigate the tumor microenvironment in melanoma as well as to identify efficient biomarkers in the diagnosis and treatments of SKCM patients. A comprehensive analysis was performed based on metastatic melanoma samples from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and ESTIMATE algorithm, including gene expression, immune and stromal scores, prognostic immune-related genes, infiltrating immune cells analysis and immune subtype identification. Then, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained based on the immune and stromal scores, and a list of prognostic immune-related genes was identified. Functional analysis and the protein–protein interaction network revealed that these genes enriched in multiple immune-related biological processes. Furthermore, prognostic genes were verified in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases and used to predict immune infiltrating cells component. Our study revealed seven immune subtypes with different risk values and identified T cells as the most abundant cells in the immune microenvironment and closely associated with prognostic outcomes. In conclusion, the present study thoroughly analyzed the tumor microenvironment and identified prognostic immune-related biomarkers for metastatic melanoma.


2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 925-952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rong-quan He ◽  
Wei-luan Cen ◽  
Jie-mei Cen ◽  
Wei-ning Cen ◽  
Jia-yi Li ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: Since the function of microRNA (miR)-210 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear, we aimed to explore the clinical significance of miR-210 in NSCLC. Methods: NSCLC-related data from 1673 samples on Gene Expression Omnibus and 1090 samples on The Cancer Genome Atlas were obtained and analyzed. The expression level of miR-210 was validated via real-time quantitative PCR analysis with 125 paired clinical samples. A meta-analysis was performed to generate a comprehensive understanding of miR-210 expression and its clinical significance in NSCLC. In addition, bioinformatics analysis was also conducted to reveal the potential underlying mechanism of miR-210 action in NSCLC. Results: miR-210 expression was consistently elevated in NSCLC solid tissue samples. However, its expression was controversial in easily obtained body fluids (i.e., blood, plasma, and serum). Moreover, an overall pooled meta-analysis implied a comparatively higher level of miR-210 expression in NSCLC cancerous tissue than in normal control tissue (P < 0.001). In addition, a meta-analysis of outcome revealed a significant diagnostic capacity of miR-210 in NSCLC by detecting its expression in serum and sputum (area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve 0.82 and 0.81, respectively). miR-210 overexpression was associated with poor progression-free survival (PFS) in NSCLC and was negatively related to overall survival and disease-free survival. Bioinformatic gene enrichment and annotation analyses showed that the target genes of miR-210 were greatly enriched in cell adhesion and plasma membrane, and three pathways were considered to be the main functional circuits of miR-210: renin secretion, the cGMP-PKG signaling pathway, and cell adhesion molecules. Conclusion: In NSCLC, miR-210 expression was elevated and overexpression indicated poor PFS. Expression level of miR-210 in serum and sputum showed significant diagnostic value for NSCLC.


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