Qiang Chen; Lutong Xu; Jing Hu; Tonglian Wang; Kang Zhang; Hongbo Zhao; Yuanyue Li; Tao Shou
Volume 21, Issue 3 , 2019, Pages 1-10
Abstract
Background: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common histological subtype of non-small cell lung cancer with very poor 5-year overall survival (OS) rate. It is histopathologically difficult to predict clinical outcome in early-stage LUAD. Identifying reliable prognostic biomarker is absolutely critical ...
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Background: Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common histological subtype of non-small cell lung cancer with very poor 5-year overall survival (OS) rate. It is histopathologically difficult to predict clinical outcome in early-stage LUAD. Identifying reliable prognostic biomarker is absolutely critical to benefit from early additional treatment for early-stage LUAD patients.Objectives: The purpose of the current study was to identify critical genes as prognostic biomarkers in early-stage LUAD using gene expression profiles based on the microarray.Methods: In this bioinformatics-based cross-study, gene expression profiles from early-stage LUAD, including GSE10072 and GSE19804 genes were integrated using bioinformatics methods, including differentially expressed gene analysis (DEGA), Kyoto En- cyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network construction. Subse- quently, the survival analysis of key genes was performed using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and was validated using online Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database.Results: A total of 89 up-regulated and 214 down-regulated genes were identified in early-stage LUAD, and the functional changes of 303 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were mainly related to cell cycle. A PPI network was established by online STRING database with 207 nodes and 775 edges. Centrality analysis showed that CDKN3 and UBE2C genes were identified as key genes implicated in early-stage LUAD. Survival analysis revealed that low mRNA expressions of CDKN3 and UBE2C were significantly associated with longer OS of early-stage LUAD patients.Conclusions: This cross-study found key dysregulated genes involved in early-stage LUAD, which might provide insights into the pathogenesis of early-stage LUAD, and identified UBE2C and CDKN3 might serve as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for early-stage LUAD.
