Abstract
BACKGROUND: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are versatile in functions and can regulate cancer development, including the modulation of cancer immunity. Immune-related lncRNA signatures predicting prognosis have been reported in multiple cancers, but relevant studies in gastric cancer (GC) are still lacking. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive analysis using TCGA and Immport databases and identified an immune-related lncRNA signature by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis. qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry assays were used for further validation. KEGG and GO analysis and ceRNA network establishment were carried out to explore the regulatory functions. RESULTS: We first identified an immune-related lncRNA signature, which can stratify gastric cancer patients into high- and low-risk subgroups and the high-risk cases frequently suffered from shorter overall survival time. Next, we validated the reliability of the lncRNA signature in an independent 75 gastric cancer samples and demonstrated that the three-year survival rate in high-risk patients was only 30.8% versus 66.5% in low-risk counterparts. Functional exploration indicated that the lncRNA signature might participate in multiple cancer-associated processes including cell adhesion and migration, cytokine-receptor interaction and immune evasion. Additionally, we observed that high-risk samples tended to form an immunosuppressive microenvironment, which had more M2-polarized macrophages and Tregs, but fewer CD8 effector T cells within tumors. Moreover, we found that PD-1 and PD-L1 were dramatically upregulated in a subset of high-risk patients with abundant M2 and Treg infiltration, implying these patients may benefit from anti-PD-1 and PD-L1 immunotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: These results showed that the immune-related lncRNA signature had a prominent capacity to predict overall survival and the immune status of microenvironment in gastric cancer. Our findings may be useful for the risk-stratification management and provide a valuable clue to identify proper patients potentially benefit from immune checkpoint therapy in gastric cancer.