Autophagy-related long non-coding RNA signature for potential prognostic biomarkers of patients with cervical cancer: a study based on public databases

Metastasis and recurrence are the main causes of death from cervical cancer (CC), thus it is important to identify more effective biomarkers to improve its prognosis. The purpose of our research was to determine the potential role of autophagy-related long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in CC and to construct an autophagy-related lncRNA signature for survival of CC.

The lncRNAs in CC were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and autophagy-related lncRNAs were identified through the co-expression of lncRNA genes and autophagy genes. Several autophagy-related lncRNAs with prognostic value (AC012306.2, AL109976.1, ATP2A1-AS1, ILF3-DT, Z83851.2, STARD7-AS1, AC099343.2, AC008771.1, DBH-AS1, and AC097468.3) were identified using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses and a prognostic signature was established. The signature effect was detected by univariate Cox regression analysis [hazard ratio (HR) =1.665; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.331-2.082; P<0.001] and multivariate Cox regression analysis (HR =1.738; 95% CI: 1.359-2.223; P<0.001). A nomogram was drawn by risk score and clinical features.

The prognostic signature could predict the survival of CC by survival-receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve [area under the curve (AUC) =0.810]. A nomogram was drawn by risk score and clinical features, and its c-index and calibration curve demonstrated that the prognostic signature could independently predict the prognosis of CC (P<0.001). Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) confirmed that the genes were significantly enriched in cancer- and autophagy-related pathways (P<0.05).

This 10 autophagy-related lncRNA signature has prognostic potential for CC. More important roles in the CC biology of these lncRNAs may be identified with further study.