High LIFR expression is associated with poor prognosis of stomach adenocarcinoma

Gastric cancer remains a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, yet its pathogenesis remains incompletely understood. Leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR) has been implicated in the initiation and progression of gastric cancer by regulating the proliferation, invasion and metastasis of gastric cancer cells. In this study, we used The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and other public databases to investigate the expression and prognostic value of LIFR in stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) through bioinformatics approaches. We found that LIFR expression was significantly lower in tumor tissues than in paracancerous tissues. Notably, within tumor tissues, low LIFR expression was associated with a more favorable prognosis. We further divided STAD patients into high- and low-LIFR-expression groups and analyzed the differentially expressed genes, constructed an upstream ceRNA regulatory network, and examined immune infiltration and DNA methylation levels. Finally, the bioinformatics findings were validated by functional cell experiments, the results of which were largely consistent with the database analyses. Taken together, the biological role of LIFR in STAD is context-dependent and cannot be simply classified as tumor-promoting or tumor-suppressive.