Identification of Versican as an Independent Prognostic Factor in Uveal Melanoma

To assess the role of versican (VCAN) in uveal melanoma (UVM) from its expression, prognostic value and biological function.

The general profile of VCAN mRNA and protein expression levels were obtained using bioinformatic approaches. Then, UALCAN database was adopted to examine the association of VCAN mRNA expression and clinical factors in UVM. The prognostic value of VCAN was assessed by UALCAN, GEPIA and TISIDB databases. Besides, Cox regression analysis was performed to predict the independent prognostic factors for UVM. Further, functional enrichment analysis was conducted to reveal the biological functions of VCAN involved in UVM through DAVID, Cytoscape and GSEA analyses.

VCAN showed a relative low expression level in normal eye but was highly expressed in UVM cell lines. Tumor histology and stage in UVM were significantly related to VCAN mRNA expression (all P <0.05). Besides, high VCAN mRNA expression led to unfavorable prognosis of UVM patients, especially in female patients and those aged <60 years (all P <0.05). Cox regression analysis indicated that VCAN mRNA expression was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival in UVM. Enrichment analysis suggested that VCAN was mainly involved in cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, chemokine signaling pathway and T cell receptor signaling pathway (all P <0.05). Meanwhile, hyaluronic acid was revealed to be a potential drug for the UVM treatment.

VCAN served as an independent prognostic factor for UVM. Further analysis found that VCAN was positively correlated with metastasis-related pathway, which might imply the metastasis risk of UVM. Our study initially revealed the vital role of VCAN in the process of UVM and provided a therapeutic target for UVM treatment.