Predictive model using four ferroptosis-related genes accurately predicts gastric cancer prognosis

BACKGROUND Gastric cancer(GC)is a common malignancy of the digestive system.According to global 2018 cancer data,GC has the fifth-highest incidence and the thirdhighest fatality rate among malignant tumors.More than 60%of GC are linked to infection with Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori),a gram-negative,active,microaerophilic,and helical bacterium.This parasite induces GC by producing toxic factors,such as cytotoxin-related gene A,vacuolar cytotoxin A,and outer membrane proteins.Ferroptosis,or iron-dependent programmed cell death,has been linked to GC,although there has been little research on the link between H.pylori infection-related GC and ferroptosis.AIM To identify coregulated differentially expressed genes among ferroptosis-related genes(FRGs)in GC patients and develop a ferroptosis-related prognostic model with discrimination ability.METHODS Gene expression profiles of GC patients and those with H.pylori-associated GC were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)databases.The FRGs were acquired from the FerrDb database.A ferroptosis-related gene prognostic index(FRGPI)was created using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator–Cox regression.The predictive ability of the FRGPI was validated in the GEO cohort.Finally,we verified the expression of the hub genes and the activity of the ferroptosis inducer FIN56 in GC cell lines and tissues.RESULTS Four hub genes were identified(NOX4,MTCH1,GABARAPL2,and SLC2A3)and shown to accurately predict GC and H.pylori-associated GC.The FRGPI based on the hub genes could independently predict GC patient survival;GC patients in the high-risk group had considerably worse overall survival than did those in the low-risk group.The FRGPI was a significant predictor of GC prognosis and was strongly correlated with disease progression.Moreover,the gene expression levels of common immune checkpoint proteins dramatically increased in the highrisk subgroup of the FRGPI cohort.The hub genes were also confirmed to be highly overexpressed in GC cell lines and tissues and were found to be primarily localized at the cell membrane.The ferroptosis inducer FIN56 inhibited GC cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner.CONCLUSION In this study,we developed a predictive model based on four FRGs that can accurately predict the prognosis of GC patients and the efficacy of immunotherapy in this population.

Insight on BRAF^(V600E)mutated colorectal cancer immune microenvironment

Colorectal cancer(CRC)is the second deadliest malignancy for both sexes.The BRAF^(V600E)mutation,one of the most common driver mutations in CRC,is known for its poor prognosis due to the increased risk of metastasis.The effect of the BRAF^(V600E)mutation on the tumor microenvironment was the topic of the study reported in World Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology,with special focus on immune status.The authors presented insightful findings that were exclusively based on macrophage polarity and cytokine levels,without investigating other relevant immune elements.A more comprehensive look into the dynamic immune activity of cancer environments will warrant more meaningful practical findings.In this letter,we discuss other significant immune factors and their possible implications on the tumor microenvironment of BRAF-mutated CRC.