Development of a 4-miRNA prognostic signature for endometrial cancer

Abstract

To develop an effective uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) risk assessment tool to monitor treatment outcomes. Limma package was used to analyze differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) between UCEC tissues and normal tissues in the TCGA database. According to univariate Cox risk regression, least absolute shrinkage, and selection operator (LASSO) Cox analysis were performed to screen prognostic miRNAs and construct a risk scoring model. The prognostic performance of signature was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier and receiver operating characteristic. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to determine the independent prognostic factors of UCEC. Nomogram was constructed according to age, clinical stage, and risk score. A 4-miRNA signature based on miR-31-5p, miR-34a-5p, miR-26a-1-3p and miR-4772-3p was established. Risk scores of each patient were calculated by the 4-miRNA signature. After z-score, the patients were divided into high- and low-risk groups. The overall survival of high-risk patients was significantly shorter than that of low-risk patients, pointing to the high performance and independence of the 4-miRNA signature in predicting UCEC prognosis. The nomogram showed a high accuracy in predicting overall survival of UCEC patients. We developed a 4-miRNA signature that could effectively predict the prognosis of UCEC.