Identification of stemness subtypes and features to improve endometrial cancer treatment using machine learning

Artif Cells Nanomed Biotechnol. 2023 Dec;51(1):57-73. doi: 10.1080/21691401.2023.2172027.

Abstract

Endometrial cancer is one of the most common malignant tumours in women, and cancer stem cells are known to play an important role in its growth, invasion, metastasis, and drug resistance. Immunotherapy for endometrial cancer is still under research. In this study, a total of 547 endometrial cancer cases were randomly divided into training set (351 cases) set and test set (196 cases). The stemness index of patients was calculated using the One-Class Logistic Regression (OCLR) machine learning algorithm to explore the clinicopathological differences between index levels. Stemness subtypes were determined according to the characteristics of cancer stemness and their clinicopathological characteristics, immune features, and therapeutic effects were described. Our study suggests that endometrial cancer is classified into two stemness subtypes. Stemness subtypes, which are associated with its clinical features, may be independent prognostic factors for endometrial cancer. The stemness subtypes differed significantly in immune activity, immune cell infiltration, and the immune microenvironment, including sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs and potential therapeutic compounds. Algorithms were utilised to construct a stemness subtype prediction model and predictor. These findings will provide guidance for the clinical diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of endometrial cancer.

Keywords: Stemness; endometrial cancer; immune response; machine learning; prognosis.

MeSH terms

  • Endometrial Neoplasms* / diagnosis
  • Endometrial Neoplasms* / therapy
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy
  • Machine Learning
  • Neoplastic Stem Cells
  • Tumor Microenvironment