Objective: To find the biomarkers that accurately predict the survival of patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods: The immune related genes that were significantly related to the overall survival (OS) of patients with ESCC were screened from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to construct a prognostic risk score model. The prognoses of the high-risk and low-risk groups were compared by Kaplan-Meier method. The accuracy of the model was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Tumor tissue samples of 83 patients with pathological diagnosis of ESCC were collected from Anyang Cancer Hospital for external verification. Cox regression analysis was used to comprehensively evaluate the effects of prognostic risk score and various clinical characteristics on OS of patients with ESCC. Results: Seven immune-related genes that were significantly related to survival prognosis were selected from the TCGA database and included in the prognostic risk score model, which were S100A12, SLC40A1, FABP9, TNFSF10, IGHA2, IL1F10, and STC2. The 1- and 2-year survival rates of the low-risk group (40 cases) were 94.3% and 82.5%, respectively, while those of the high-risk group (40 cases) were 75.9% and 32.9%, respectively.The prognosis of the high-risk group was worse than that of the low-risk group (P<0.001). The 83 external validation samples obtained consistent results by using the prognostic risk score model. The prognostic risk score was positively correlated with the content of CD4(+) T lymphocytes in ESCC (r(s)=0.259, P=0.020), but not correlated with the content of B lymphocytes, CD8(+) T lymphocytes, neutrophils, macrophages or dendritic cells (P>0.05). Conclusions: S100A12, SLC40A1, FABP9, TNFSF10, IGHA2, IL1F10, and STC2 were risk genes significantly associated with OS of patients with ESCC. The prognostic risk score was an independent prognostic factor for the OS of patients with ESCC, and it was correlated with the content of CD4(+) T lymphocytes in ESCC tissue.
目的： 寻找准确预测食管鳞癌患者生存的生物标志物。 方法： 通过TCGA数据库筛选出与食管鳞癌患者总生存时间(OS)相关的免疫相关基因，构建预后风险评分模型。采用Kaplan-Meier法比较高风险和低风险组患者的预后情况，采用受试者工作特征(ROC)曲线评估模型的准确性。收集安阳市肿瘤医院的83例病理诊断为食管鳞癌患者的肿瘤组织样本进行外部验证。采用Cox回归分析综合评估预后风险评分与各临床特征对食管鳞癌患者OS的影响。 结果： 从TCGA数据库筛选出7个与生存预后相关的免疫相关基因分别为S100A12、SLC40A1、FABP9、TNFSF10、IGHA2、IL1F10和STC2纳入预后风险评分模型。低风险组(40例)患者的1、2年生存率分别为94.3%和82.5%，高风险组(40例)患者的1、2年生存率分别为75.9%和32.9%；高风险组与低风险组患者比较，预后更差(P<0.001)。83例外部验证样本运用该预后风险评分模型得到一致的结果。预后风险评分与食管鳞癌组织中CD4(+) T淋巴细胞含量呈正相关(r(s)＝0.259, P＝0.020)，与B淋巴细胞、CD8(+)T淋巴细胞、中性粒细胞、巨噬细胞、树突状细胞含量的无相关性(均P>0.05)。 结论： S100A12、SLC40A1、FABP9、TNFSF10、IGHA2、IL1F10和STC2是与食管鳞癌患者OS相关的风险基因。预后风险评分是食管鳞癌患者OS的独立预后因素，与食管鳞癌组织中CD4(+) T淋巴细胞含量有关。.
Keywords: Bioinformatics; Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; Immune-related gene; Prognosis.