AUTHOR=Zhou Kexun , Gu Xuyu , Tan Huaicheng , Yu Ting , Liu Chunhua , Ding Zhenyu , Liu Jiyan , Shi Huashan TITLE=Identification pyroptosis-related gene signature to predict prognosis and associated regulation axis in colon cancer JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2022.1004425 DOI=10.3389/fphar.2022.1004425 ISSN=1663-9812 ABSTRACT=

Background: Pyroptosis is an important component of the tumor microenvironment and associated with the occurrence and progression of cancer. As the expression of pyroptosis-related genes and its impact on the prognosis of colon cancer (CC) remains unclear, we constructed and validated a pyroptosis-related genes signature to predict the prognosis of patients with CC.

Methods: Microarray datasets and the follow-up clinical information of CC patients were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. Candidate genes were screened out for further analysis. Various methods were combined to construct a robust pyroptosis-related genes signature for predicting the prognosis of patients with CC. Based on the gene signature and clinical features, a decision tree and nomogram were developed to improve risk stratification and quantify risk assessment for individual patients.

Results: The pyroptosis-related genes signature successfully discriminated CC patients with high-risk in the training cohorts. The prognostic value of this signature was further confirmed in independent validation cohort. Multivariable Cox regression and stratified survival analysis revealed this signature was an independent prognostic factor for CC patients. The decision tree identified risk subgroups powerfully, and the nomogram incorporating the gene signature and clinical risk factors performed well in the calibration plots.

Conclusion: Pyroptosis-related genes signature was an independent prognostic factor, and can be used to predict the prognosis of patients with CC.