Expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha-mediated genes predicts recurrence-free survival in lung cancer

PLoS One. 2014 Dec 30;9(12):e115945. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115945. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis on high-throughput gene expression data to identify TNF-α-mediated genes implicated in lung cancer. We first investigated the gene expression profiles of two independent TNF-α/TNFR KO murine models. The EGF receptor signaling pathway was the top pathway associated with genes mediated by TNF-α. After matching the TNF-α-mediated mouse genes to their human orthologs, we compared the expression patterns of the TNF-α-mediated genes in normal and tumor lung tissues obtained from humans. Based on the TNF-α-mediated genes that were dysregulated in lung tumors, we developed a prognostic gene signature that effectively predicted recurrence-free survival in lung cancer in two validation cohorts. Resampling tests suggested that the prognostic power of the gene signature was not by chance, and multivariate analysis suggested that this gene signature was independent of the traditional clinical factors and enhanced the identification of lung cancer patients at greater risk for recurrence.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers / metabolism*
  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms / genetics
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / genetics
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
  • Prognosis
  • Recurrence
  • Risk Assessment
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / metabolism*

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Grants and funding

This work was supported by project 61271054 of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and was also supported by project KYZ201320 of the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.