Analysis of m6A methylation patterns and tumor microenvironment in endometrial cancer

Abstract

BackgroundThe N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is the most common epigenetic modification in eukaryotic mRNA. In recent years, lots of studies have shown that the tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a critical role in tumor growth and development. However, there are few studies on the interaction between m6A methylation and the TME in uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC). MethodsThree distinct m6A modification patterns were based on 21 m6A regulators of UCEC patients and tumor-free individuals. We investigated the relationship between m6A modification patterns and associated features of the TME. Differentially expressed genes were selected and the m6A score was established to evaluate the prognosis and immunotherapeutic efficacy of UCEC patients. ResultsWe identified three different m6A modification patterns. The TME infiltrating characteristics were highly consistent with tumors with three distinct immune phenotypes. Besides, our analysis showed that the m6A score was shown to be useful in predicting clinical outcomes. Patients with the low m6A score seemed to have a better prognosis, a stronger immunotherapeutic response, and a higher tumor mutation burden. ConclusionOur study explored the influence of m6A modification and TME on the prognosis of cancer patients, which will contribute to the discovery of immunotherapy strategies to improve their prognosis.