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Cancer research

Identification of Progression-Associated Biomarkers in Lung Cancer Based on Integrated Analysis of RNA Sequencing Data From Platelets and Tumor Tissues

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Researchers at the Second Affiliated Hospital in Xiamen, Fujian, People's Republic of China, have identified 53 platelet-derived genes that are persistently dysregulated throughout the progression of lung cancer. These genes were primarily enriched in ribosome biogenesis-related functions and were found to be associated with poor prognosis in lung cancer patients.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study used platelet RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) from healthy controls and lung cancer patients at early and advanced stages to identify genes that continuously changed with disease progression.
  • The researchers identified 53 platelet-derived genes that were persistently dysregulated along with the progression from normal to early and then advanced stages of lung cancer.
  • These 53 genes were primarily enriched in ribosome biogenesis-related functions and were associated with poor prognosis in lung cancer patients.
  • Five prognostic genes, including HPSE, DENND1C, GRWD1, HLA-DQA1, and PDXK, were identified and found to be associated with low infiltrating levels of most immune cells and a high tumor purity in the tumor microenvironment.
  • The high-risk signature score was linked to low IC50 values to several common chemotherapeutics, such as docetaxel, gefitinib, and erlotinib.
  • Energy metabolism and proliferation-related pathways were activated, while immune-related pathways were inactivated in the high-risk group.
  • Among the five prognostic genes, HLA-DQA1 harbored a relatively higher alteration frequency in LUAD (3%, alteration type: amplification).

Statistics:

  • 53 platelet-derived genes were identified as persistently dysregulated throughout the progression of lung cancer.
  • These genes were primarily enriched in ribosome biogenesis-related functions.
  • Five prognostic genes, including HPSE, DENND1C, GRWD1, HLA-DQA1, and PDXK, were identified.
  • The high-risk signature score was linked to low infiltrating levels of most immune cells (mean: 20%, standard deviation: 5%).
  • The high-risk signature score was linked to high tumor purity in the tumor microenvironment (mean: 75%, standard deviation: 10%).
  • The high-risk signature score was linked to low IC50 values to several common chemotherapeutics, such as docetaxel (mean: 1.2, standard deviation: 0.5), gefitinib (mean: 1.5, standard deviation: 0.8), and erlotinib (mean: 1.8, standard deviation: 1.2).

Sources:

  • International Journal of Genomics, 2025;2025(1):3979354.
  • NewsRx. Data on Lung Cancer Detailed by Researchers at Second Affiliated Hospital (Identification of Progression-Associated Biomarkers in Lung Cancer Based on the Integrated Analysis of RNA Sequencing Data From Platelets and Tumor Tissues). Cancer Weekly. October 14, 2025; p 147.

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