A Systems Biology Approach Unveils a Critical Role of DPP4 in Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Patient Outcomes

This study was intended to elucidate the correlation of DPP4 expression and survival along with prognosis, followed by its associated enriched molecular pathways and immune cell marker levels in upper GI cancers. Results demonstrated a strong correlation between increased DPP4 expression and a worse prognosis in esophageal and gastric cancer and the co-expressed common genes with DPP4 were associated with crucial molecular pathways involved in tumorigenesis. Additionally, DPP4 was shown to be significantly linked to several immune infiltrating cell marker genes, including Macrophages (M1, M2 and Tumor Associated Macrophages), neutrophils, Treg, T-cell exhaustion, Th1 and Th2. Overall, our findings suggest that DPP4 may serve as a substantial prognostic biomarker, a possible therapeutic target, as well as it can play a critical role in the regulation of immune cell invasion in patients with gastroesophageal (esophageal, gastroesophageal junction and gastric) cancer. KEY WORDS: DPP4, integrated analysis, GI cancer, gastroesophageal cancer, gastroesophageal junction, prognosis.PMID:38505912 | DOI:10.1615/JEnvironPatholToxicolOncol.2023048056
Source: Journal of Environmental Pathology, Toxicology and Oncology - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Source Type: research