Abstract
Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is recognised as an immune active cancer, but little is known about the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in it. In the present study, we aim to determine a prognostic and immune-related miRNAs signature (IRMS) in HNSCC.Methods: Spearman correlation analysis was used to screen out prognostic immune-related miRNAs based on single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA). Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression model was used to establish IRMS in HNSCC. Then, the influence of the IRMS on HNSCC was comprehensively analysed.Results: We obtained 11 prognostic immune-related miRNAs based on ssGSEA. Then an IRMS integrated with six miRNAs was established through LASSO Cox regression analysis. The stratification survival analysis indicated that IRMS was independent from other characteristics and performed favourably in the overall survival (OS) prediction. The function annotation suggested that IRMS was highly associated with the immune-related response biological processes and pathways which are so important for tumorigenesis of HNSCC. Moreover, the nomogram demonstrated that our model was identified as an independent prognostic factor. In addition, we found that IRMS was significantly correlated with the immune infiltration and expression of critical immune checkpoints, indicating that the poor prognosis might be caused partly by immunosuppressive microenvironment.Conclusion: We established a novel IRMS, which exhibited a potent prognostic value and could be representative of immune status in HNSCC.
Highlights
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is recognised as an immune active cancer, but little is known about the role of microRNAs in it
Through Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression analyses, we have found six prognostic immune-related miRNAs and construct a model called immune-related miRNAs signature (IRMS) which could appropriately stratify the patients into low- and high-risk groups with distinct overall survival (OS)
The HTSeq-Fragments Per Kilobase per Million (FPKM) data were transferred to the transcripts per million reads (TPMs) which will represent as the expression of RNA at the highest expression according to the gene symbol in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-HNSCC cohort
Summary
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is recognised as an immune active cancer, but little is known about the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in it. We aim to determine a prognostic and immune-related miRNAs signature (IRMS) in HNSCC. We found that IRMS was significantly correlated with the immune infiltration and expression of critical immune checkpoints, indicating that the poor prognosis might be caused partly by immunosuppressive microenvironment. Many factors have been reported to be associated with immunotherapy response as follows: the expression of immune checkpoints such as PD-L1 measured by immunohistochemistry (IHC), immune cells infiltration populations such as levels of CD8 T cells, and an ‘inflamed’ tumour phenotype established by IFNγ signature. Considering that, characterization of the tumour immune microenvironment (TIME), containing a great diversity of immune cells, which are collaborating with each other to generate a chronic inflammatory, immunosuppressive, and pro-angiogenic intratumoural atmosphere [16], is an urgent need and becoming more prominent in HNSCC
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
