Identification and Construction of a Predictive Immune-Related lncRNA Signature Model for Melanoma

Abstract

Objective

The occurrence and development mechanisms of melanoma are related to immunity and lncRNAs. Therefore, it is necessary to systematically explore immune-related lncRNA profiles to help improve the prognosis of melanoma.

Methods

We integrated immune-related lncRNAs and the basic clinical information of melanoma patients in the TCGA dataset. Immune-associated lncRNAs were selected by differential expression screening and enriched for analysis. After univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses, a new prognostic indicator based on immune-associated lncRNAs was established.

Results

Overall, differentially expressed immune-related lncRNAs were significantly associated with clinical outcomes in patients with melanoma. A prognostic model was then established based on 14 immune-associated lncRNAs (LRRC8C-DT, AC021188.1, MALINC1, CCR5AS, EIF2AK3-DT, AC022306.2, AC242842.1, AL034376.1, AL662844.4, AC009065.3, AC099811.3, AC125807.2, SPINT1-AS1 and AC009495.2). Melanoma patients in the high-risk group had worse overall survival than those in the low-risk group. The AUC of the risk score was 0.786.

Conclusion

This study identified several clinically significant immune-related lncRNAs and established a relevant prognostic model, which provided a molecular analysis of immunity in melanoma and potential prognostic lncRNAs for melanoma.

Keywords:

• lncRNA
• immune-related
• model
• overall survival
• melanoma

Abbreviations

lncRNAs, long noncoding RNAs; RNA-seq, RNA sequencing; TCGA, The Cancer Genome Atlas; GSEA, gene set enrichment analysis; AUC, area under the curve; PCA, principal component analysis; ROC, receiver operating characteristic.

Data Sharing Statement

The datasets supporting the conclusions of this article are available in TCGA database. (https://cancergenome.nih.gov/).

Ethics Approval and Informed Consent

This study was exempt from ethical review and approval from the Institutional Review Board of Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital.

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge TCGA database for providing their platforms and contributors for uploading their meaningful datasets.

Author Contributions

FWL and SKL conceived and designed the study. FWL analyzed the data and drew the figures. All authors made substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; took part in drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; agreed to submit to the current journal; gave final approval of the version to be published; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

There is no funding to report.