Abstract
Lung adenocarcinoma is one of the most common cancers worldwide. However, the molecular mechanisms of lung adenocarcinoma development are still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the expression profiles of anti-lung cancer target genes in different cancer stages and to explore their functions in tumor development. Lung adenocarcinoma transcriptome and clinical data were downloaded from Genomic Data Commons Data Portal, and the anti-lung cancer target genes were retrieved from the Thomson Reuters Integrity database. The results showed that 16 anti-lung target genes were deregulated in all stages. Among these target genes, fibroblast growth factor 22 showed the most important role in transcription regulatory networks. Further analysis revealed that APC, BRIP1, and PTTG1 may regulate fibroblast growth factor 22 and subsequently influence MAPK signaling pathway, Rap1 signaling pathways, and other tumorigenic processes in all stages. Moreover, high fibroblast growth factor 22 expression leads to poor overall survival (hazard ratio = 1.55, P = .019). These findings provide valuable information for the pathological research and treatment of lung adenocarcinoma. Future studies are needed to verify these results.