Identification of TNFAIP8 as an Immune-Related Biomarker Associated With Tumorigenesis and Prognosis in Cutaneous Melanoma Patients.

Yuliang Sun,Guangxin Ma,Xiaoru Sun,Jianxiong Zhao

doi:10.3389/fgene.2021.783672

Abstract

Tumor necrosis factor-α–induced protein 8 (TNFAIP8) is a member of the TIPE/TNFAIP8 family which is associated with inflammation and tumorigenesis. The potential role of TNFAIP8 in a tumor immune microenvironment in skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) has not yet been investigated. The TNFAIP8 expression was evaluated via gene expression profiling interactive analysis (GEPIA). We also evaluated the influence of TNFAIP8 on overall survival via GEPIA and PrognoScan. After GO and KEGG pathway analyses, the correlation between the TNFAIP8 expression level and immune cells or gene markers of the immune infiltration level was explored by R-language. The result showed the TNFAIP8 expression was significantly reduced in SKCM in comparison with normal control. In SKCM, the TNFAIP8 expression in higher levels was associated with the better overall survival. The high expression of TNFAIP8 was positively correlated with the immune score and promoted immune cell infiltration in SKCM patients. TNFAIP8 can be a positive prognosis marker or new immunotherapy target in SKCM.

Highlights

Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) is one of the most fatal types of skin cancer (Siegel et al, 2020)
We found SKCM patients in the Tumor necrosis factor-α–induced protein 8 (TNFAIP8)-high group have a higher percentage of the metastasis tumor type
The TNFAIP8 expression is elevated in a variety of cancer tumors, and a higher expression is associated with a lower survival rate of patients, suggesting that TNFAIP8 may play an important role in tumorigenesis as an oncogene

Summary

Introduction

Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) is one of the most fatal types of skin cancer (Siegel et al, 2020). Due to the high rate of invasion and distant metastasis, SKCM accounts for 72% of skin cancer mortality (Schadendorf et al, 2018). Immune checkpoint blockade has showed remarkable clinical benefits in lymphoma, melanoma, and NSCLC (Robert et al, 2015; Weber et al, 2015; Weber et al, 2017). Immune checkpoint blockade is generally effective for a wide range of cancer types, and most are not restricted by certain gene mutation status (Curti and Faries, 2021).

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