Identification of cuproptosis-related genes for predicting the development of prostate cancer.

Copper can be toxic at very high intracellular concentrations and can inhibit prostate cancer (PCa) progression. Recently, a study reported the mechanism of cuproptosis and the potentially associated genes. However, the function of these cuproptosis-related genes in PCa remains unknown. Based on the RNA sequence and clinical data from public databases, we analyzed the clinical value of cuproptosis-related genes in PCa. , , , and were expressed differently between normal and PCa tissues. The , , , , and genes can affect PCa progression, while and influence the patients' disease-free survival (DFS) status. The expression of , , , and did not alter upon the incidence of PCa in Chinese patients. A constructed regression model showed that , , , and can be risk factors leading to PCa in both Western and Chinese patients with PCa. The lasso regression model reflected that these genes can affect the patients' DFS status. Additionally, the cuproptosis-related genes were associated with immune cell infiltration. We also verified the high expression of and , in clinical samples. In conclusion, we identified a novel cuproptosis-related gene signature for predicting the development of PCa.