Development of Prognostic Indicator Based on Autophagy‐Related lncRNA Analysis in Colon Adenocarcinoma
Weige Zhou, Shijing Zhang, Huibiao Li, Zheyou Cai, Shuting Tang, Li-xia Chen, Jian-ying Lang, Zheng Chen, Xinlin Chen
Abstract
There were no systematic researches about autophagy‐related long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) signatures to predict the survival of patients with colon adenocarcinoma. It was necessary to set up corresponding autophagy‐related lncRNA signatures. The expression profiles of lncRNAs which contained 480 colon adenocarcinoma samples were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The coexpression network of lncRNAs and autophagy‐related genes was utilized to select autophagy‐related lncRNAs. The lncRNAs were further screened using univariate Cox regression. In addition, Lasso regression and multivariate Cox regression were used to develop an autophagy‐related lncRNA signature. A risk score based on the signature was established, and Cox regression was used to test whether it was an independent prognostic factor. The functional enrichment of autophagy‐related lncRNAs was visualized using Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. Ten prognostic autophagy‐related lncRNAs (AC027307.2, AC068580.3, AL138756.1, CD27‐AS1, EIF3J‐DT, LINC01011, LINC01063, LINC02381, AC073896.3, and SNHG16) were identified to be significantly different, which made up an autophagy‐related lncRNA signature. The signature divided patients with colon adenocarcinoma into the low‐risk group and the high‐risk group. A risk score based on the signature was a significantly independent factor for the patients with colon adenocarcinoma (HR = 1.088, 95 % CI = 1.057 − 1.120; P < 0.001). Additionally, the ten lncRNAs were significantly enriched in autophagy process, metabolism, and tumor classical pathways. In conclusion, the ten autophagy‐related lncRNAs and their signature might be molecular biomarkers and therapeutic targets for the patients with colon adenocarcinoma.