Construction of Ovarian Cancer Prognostic Model Based on the Investigation of Ferroptosis-Related lncRNA

Abstract

(1) Background: Ovarian cancer (OV) has the high mortality rate among gynecological cancers worldwide. Inefficient early diagnosis and prognostic prediction of OV leads to poor survival in most patients. OV is associated with ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of cell death. Ferroptosis, believed to be regulated by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), may have potential applications in anti-cancer treatments. In this study, we aimed to identify ferroptosis-related lncRNA signatures and develop a novel model for predicting OV prognosis. (2) Methods: We downloaded data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Genotype-Tissue Expression, and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Prognostic lncRNAs were screened by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO)-Cox regression analysis, and a prognostic model was constructed. The model’s predictive ability was evaluated by Kaplan–Meier (KM) survival analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The expression levels of these lncRNAs included in the model were examined in normal and OV cell lines using quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. (3) Results: We constructed an 18 lncRNA prognostic prediction model for OV based on ferroptosis-related lncRNAs from TCGA patient samples. This model was validated using TCGA and GEO patient samples. KM analysis showed that the prognostic model was able to significantly distinguish between high- and low-risk groups, corresponding to worse and better prognoses. Based on the ROC curves, our model shows stronger prediction precision compared with other traditional clinical factors. Immune cell infiltration, immune checkpoint expression levels, and Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion analyses are also insightful for OV immunotherapy. (4) Conclusions: The prognostic model constructed in this study has potential for improving our understanding of ferroptosis-related lncRNAs and providing a new tool for prognosis and immune response prediction in patients with OV.