Reveal the Regulation Patterns of Prognosis-Related miRNAs and lncRNAs Across Solid Tumors in the Cancer Genome Atlas

摘要

Background: The dysregulation of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) such as miRNAs and lncRNAs are associated with the pathogenesis and progression in multiple cancers including solid tumors. Comprehensive investigations of prognosis-related ncRNA markers could promote the development of therapeutic strategies for solid tumors, but rarely reported. Methods: By taking advantage of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), pan-cancer prognosis analysis (PCPA) models were firstly constructed based on miRNA and lncRNA expression profiles of 8,450 samples in 19 solid tumors. Further, the co-occurrence and exclusivity among ncRNA markers were systematically analyzed for different cancers. Results: In identified ncRNA makers, 71% of the miRNA markers were shared in multiple cancers, whereas 96% of the lncRNA markers were cancer-specific. Moreover, to analyze the regulation patterns of prognosis-related ncRNAs at the pan-cancer level, miRNA markers were further annotated into 8 carcinogenic pathways. Results represented that approximately 86% of these miRNA markers could regulate the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, while only 48% for the Notch signaling pathway. Finally, among 126 common genes that participated in 8 carcinogenic pathways, BCL2, CSNK2A1, EGFR, PDGFRA, and VEGFA were proposed as potential drug targets for multiple cancers. Conclusions: The prognosis analysis and regulation characteristics of ncRNAs presented in this study may help to facilitate the discovery of anti-cancer drugs for multiple solid tumors.