Construction and Validation of a Ferroptosis-Related Prognostic Model for Endometrial Cancer

Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common female reproductive system tumors, with close to 200,000 new cases each year. It accounts for approximately 7% of the total number of female cancers, but until now the cause of EC has remained unclear. Ferroptosis is regulated cell death that distinguishes apoptosis and caused by oxidative damage. The process has unique biological effects on metabolism and redox biology. In this study, we analyzed the relationship between EC and ferroptosis. According to the different expression levels of related genes, we first divided 544 EC samples into four clusters and found that most of the infiltrating immune cells were significantly different among the four groups. A differential gene expression analysis between Fe.cluster groups was performed, and the samples were again divided into three Fe.gene.cluster groups. The molecular characteristics and clinical characteristics of the groups were significantly different. Finally, 13 characteristic genes were selected as ferroptosis gene signatures, and the Fe.score was obtained by calculation. The Fe.score is closely related to the clinical and molecular characteristics of EC, and a low Fe.score has a significant survival advantage. The GDSC predicts that the IC50 of multiple chemotherapeutic drugs is also significantly different between the two groups. In conclusion, our research has explored the relationship between EC and ferroptosis in detail, provides comprehensive insights for ferroptosis-mediated EC mechanism research, and emphasizes the clinical application potential of Fe.score-based immunotherapy strategies.