A Qualitative Transcriptional Signature for Predicting Recurrence Risk of Stage I-III Bladder Cancer Patients After...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Genomics
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• Existing bladder cancer prognostic signatures rely on quantitative gene expression, limiting clinical applicability due to sensitivity to variations.
• There is a need for robust methods to predict recurrence risk in bladder cancer patients post-surgery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, robust transcriptional signature for predicting recurrence risk in stage I-III bladder cancer (BLCA) patients.
• To identify reliable biomarkers for BLCA metastasis.

Main Methods:

• Utilized within-sample relative expression orderings (REOs) of genes for signature development.
• Developed a signature based on qualitative transcriptional characteristics, termed 12-gene pair signature (12-GPS).

Main Results:

• Identified a 12-GPS signature in 158 training samples.
• Validated the signature in two independent datasets (114 and 57 samples), showing significant survival differences between low- and high-risk groups.
• Demonstrated high reproducibility and concordance with DNA methylation differences between risk groups.

Conclusions:

• The 12-GPS signature reliably predicts recurrence risk in stage I-III BLCA patients post-surgical resection.
• The signature aids in identifying consistent transcriptional and epigenomic features associated with BLCA metastasis.