Discussion
CAPS is closely associated with GC prognosis and immunotherapy outcomes. It is therefore an independent predictor of GC prognosis and immunotherapy efficacy.
Methods
We assessed patient-derived GC CAFs for promoting angiogenesis using EdU, cell cycle, apoptosis, wound healing, and angiogenesis analysis.
Results
We then identified CAF-angiogenesis-associated differentially-expressed genes, leading to the development of CAPS, which included THBS1, SPARC, EDNRA, and VCAN. We used RT-qPCR to conduct gene-level validation, and eight GEO datasets and the HPA database to validate the CAPS system at the gene and protein levels. Six independent GEO datasets were utilized for validation. Overall survival time was shorter in the high- than the low-CAPS group. Immune microenvironment and immunotherapy response analysis showed that the high-CAPS group had a greater tendency toward immune escape and reduced immunotherapy efficacy than the low-CAPS group.