Lu Can, Zhang Xiaopeng, Schardey Josefine, Wirth Ulrich, Heinrich Kathrin, Massiminio Luca, Cavestro Giulia Martina, Neumann Jens, Bazhin Alexandr V, Werner Jens, Kühn Florian
Department of General, Visceral, and Transplant Surgery, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, 81377, Munich, Germany.
Department of Colorectal Surgery and Oncology, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention (Ministry of Education), The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
NPJ Precis Oncol. 2023 Jul 1;7(1):63. doi: 10.1038/s41698-023-00414-8.
The incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (EO-CRC, in patients younger than 50) is increasing worldwide. The specific gene signatures in EO-CRC patients are largely unknown. Since EO-CRC with microsatellite instability is frequently associated with Lynch syndrome, we aimed to comprehensively characterize the tumor microenvironment (TME) and gene expression profiles of EO-CRC with microsatellite stable (MSS-EO-CRC). Here, we demonstrated that MSS-EO-CRC has a similar pattern of tumor-infiltrating immune cells, immunotherapeutic responses, consensus molecular subtypes, and prognosis as late-onset CRC with MSS (MSS-LO-CRC). 133 differential expressed genes were identified as unique gene signatures of MSS-EO-CRC. Moreover, we established a risk score, which was positively associated with PD-L1 expression and could reflect both the level of tumor-infiltrating immune cells and the prognosis of MSS-EO-CRC patients. Application of this score on the anti-PD-L1 treatment cohort demonstrated that the low-risk score group has significant therapeutic advantages and clinical benefits. In addition, candidate driver genes were identified in the different-sidedness of MSS-EO-CRC patients. Altogether, MSS-EO-CRC exhibits distinct molecular profiles that differ from MSS-LO-CRC even though they have a similar TME characterization and survival pattern. Our risk score appears to be robust enough to predict prognosis and immunotherapeutic response and therefore could help to optimize the treatment of MSS-EO-CRC.
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