Identification of a Panel of Genes as a Prognostic Biomarker for Glioblastoma

Abstract

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a fatal disease without effective therapy. Identification of new biomarkers for prognosis would enable more rational selections of strategies to cure patients with GBM and prevent relapse. We analyzed a large amount of gene expression profiling data derived from GBM patients. We identified CD44, ATP binding cassette subfamily C member 3 (ABCC3), and TNRSF1A as highly expressed genes in GBMs. Furthermore, the expression of these three genes is closely associated with patient's short survival time and therapy resistance. Moreover, these three markers combining with MGMT, a conventional GBM marker, can classify GBM patients into 5 new subgroups with different overall survival time in response to treatment. The four-gene signature was then evaluated in a panel of GBM cell lines treated with traditional therapeutic compounds and the data indicate that the four-gene panel can be used as a therapy response index for GBM patients and potential therapeutic targets. These results provide important new insights into the early detections and prognosis for GBM patients and introduce potential targets for GBM therapeutics. Funding: This study is, in part, supported by NovoCure Inc, 160280 (E.F. and F.W.); Baylor Scott and White Startup funds (E.W.); NIH R01 NS067435 (J.H.H.), Scott & White Plummer Foundation Grant (J.H.H.); National Science Foundation in China 816280007 (J.H.H. and Fu. W.); Jiangsu Nature Foundation BK20151565, Jiangsu Traditional Chinese Medicine Foundation ZD201501, Jiangsu Six Talent Peak Project 2015YY006 (Fu. W.). Declaration of Interest: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Ethical Approval: Ethical approval of our experiments was given by the ethics committee of Baylor Scott and White Health.