NOX4 Upregulation in Lung Cancer: A Potential Therapeutic Target Associated with Immune Infiltration

Abstract

Lung cancer is a common and highly lethal tumor worldwide. Research indicates that NOX4 plays a crucial role in apoptosis resistance and sustained proliferation of cancer cells in various types of tumors. In this study, NOX4 expression in lung cancer tissues was analyzed using the Wilcoxon rank sum test, while the Kruskal-Wallis Test was employed to explore the relationship between NOX4 expression and clinical characteristics in lung cancer patients. Prognostic evaluation was conducted using Kaplan-Meier plotter analysis, Cox regression, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve construction. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to investigate the correlation between NOX4 and immune infiltration. Results showed significantly higher NOX4 expression in lung cancer patients compared to normal tissues. High NOX4 expression was associated with shorter overall survival (OS) in lung cancer patients, as confirmed by Cox analysis. Furthermore, other clinicopathological factors predicted poor prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), and NOX4 demonstrated diagnostic value according to ROC analysis. Additionally, NOX4 overexpression correlated with macrophages and Th1 cells based on SsGSEA analysis. In summary, NOX4 serves as an independent prognostic biomarker and is associated with immune infiltration in lung cancer.