Transcriptome analysis reveals a reprogramming energy metabolism-related signature to improve prognosis in colon cancer

Abstract

<jats:p>Although much progress has been made to improve treatment, colon cancer remains a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Metabolic reprogramming is a significant ability of cancer cells to ensure the necessary energy supply in uncontrolled proliferation. Since reprogramming energy metabolism has emerged as a new hallmark of cancer cells, accumulating evidences have suggested that metabolism-related genes may serve as key regulators of tumorigenesis and potential biomarkers. In this study, we analyzed a set of reprogramming energy metabolism-related genes by transcriptome analysis in colon cancer and revealed a five-gene signature that could significantly predict the overall survival. The reprogramming energy metabolism-related signature could distinguish patients into high-risk and low-risk groups with significantly different survival times (<jats:italic>P</jats:italic> = 0.0011; HR = 1.92; 95% CI [1.29–2.87]). Its prognostic value was confirmed in another two independent colon cancer cohorts (<jats:italic>P</jats:italic> = 5.2e–04; HR = 2.09, 95%; CI [1.37–3.2] for <jats:uri xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE17538">GSE17538</jats:uri> and <jats:italic>P</jats:italic> = 3.8e−04; HR = 2.08, 95% CI [1.37–3.16] for <jats:uri xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE41258">GSE41258</jats:uri>). By multivariable analysis, we found that the signature was independent of clinicopathological features. Its power in promoting risk stratification of the current clinical stage was then evaluated by stratified analysis. Moreover, the signature could improve the power of the TNM stage for the prediction of overall survival and could be used in patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy. Overall, our results demonstrated the important role of the reprogramming energy metabolism-related signature in promoting stratification of high-risk patients, which could be diagnostic of adjuvant therapy benefit.</jats:p>

Pan-Cancer Analysis Reveals Distinct Metabolic Reprogramming in Different Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition Activity States

“…High energy metabolism ( p = 0.0017) was associated with a better prognosis for LGG with high EMT. Patients with favorable clinical outcomes had low energy metabolic activity in UVM, STAD, HNSC, and LAML, ( Figure S4 ), and several studies have shown that a poor prognosis is observed in patients with high energy metabolic reprogramming [ 32 ].…”