Identification of an Eight-Cuproptosis-related lncRNA Signature as a Novel Prognostic Model and Prediction of Immunotherapy Response in Ovarian Cancer

Abstract

Background Cuproptosis-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified and constructed as new prognostic markers in several cancers. However, the role and prognostic value of Cuproptosis-related lncRNAs in ovarian cancer (OC) remain unknown. Methods RNA sequencing and clinical and tumor somatic mutation data from OC samples were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Patients with OC were randomly assigned to the training and testing groups. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analysis and Cox regression models were used to determine the prognostic model in the training cohort and confirmed in the testing cohort. In this study, a nomogram was constructed. Functional enrichment and immune function analyses were performed to investigate differences in biological functions. Tumor mutation burden (TMB) and tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) scores were used to predict response to immunotherapy. Results A total of eight Cuproptosis-related lncRNAs prognostic markers (AL732292.2, LINC00996, AC025287.2, AC022893.3, SUCLG2-AS1, AC245041.1, AL391832.3, and AC019080.5) were identified. The Kaplan−Meier survival curve revealed that the overall survival (OS) between the high- and low-risk groups was statistically significant. A mixed nomogram containing clinical characteristics and risk scores was constructed. The receiver operating characteristic curve and principal component analysis showed the accurate predictive ability of the model. Functional enrichment and immune function analyses confirmed that prognostic features were significantly correlated with the immune status of patients with OC. Patients in the high-risk group had a higher TIDE score and lower TMB, indicating a poor response to immunotherapy. The risk model can distinguish between the effects of antitumor therapy in patients with OC. Conclusions We identified an eight-Cuprotosis-related lncRNA signature of OC as a prognostic predictor and constructed a nomogram, which may be a reliable biomarker for predicting the benefit of OC immunotherapy.