Autophagy characteristics and establishment of autophagy prognostic models in lung adenocarcinoma and lung squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Background Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which makes up the majority of lung cancers, remains one of the deadliest malignancies in the world. It has a poor prognosis due to its late detection and lack of response to chemoradiaiton. Therefore, it is urgent to find a new prognostic marker. Methods We evaluated biological function and immune cell infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) patients from TCGA and GEO databases between different clusters based on autophagy related hub genes. Autophagy scores were used to assess the degree of autophagy in each individual by using component analysis. Results Three different clusters were obtained. Gene set variation analysis, single-sample gene set enrichment analysis and survive analysis showed differences among these three clusters. We demonstrated that the autophagy score of each patient could predict tumor stage and prognosis. Patients with a high autophagy score had a better prognosis, higher immune infiltration, and were more sensitive to immunotherapy and conventional chemotherapy. Conclusion It was uncovered that autophagy played an irreplaceable role in NSCLC. Quantified autophagy scores for each NSCLC patient would help guide effective treatment strategies.

Autophagy-Related Gene Signature Highlights Metabolic and Immunogenic Status of Malignant Cells in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Adenocarcinoma

“…Many transcriptomic analyses performed on autophagy genes have focused on the discovery of new biomarkers to predict the efficiency of anti-tumor therapies and to guide individualized treatment in NSCLC patients [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. However, the majority of these studies are based on global transcriptomic analysis of the whole tumor microenvironment, and few investigations have been carried out on malignant cells themselves.…”