A Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation-Related Gene Signature as Prognostic Biomarker for Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to construct and test a liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS)-related gene signature as a prognostic tool for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The data set GSE26712 was used to screen the differentially expressed LLPS-related genes. Functional enrichment analysis was performed to reveal the potential biological functions. GSE17260 and GSE32062 were combined as the discovery to construct an LLPS-related gene signature through a three-step analysis (univariate Cox, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, and multivariate Cox analyses). The EOC data set from The Cancer Genome Atlas as the test set was used to test the LLPS-related gene signature. RESULTS: The differentially expressed LLPS-related genes involved in several cancer-related pathways, such as MAPK signaling pathway, cell cycle, and DNA replication. Eleven genes were selected to construct the LLPS-related gene signature risk index as prognostic biomarker for EOC. The risk index could successfully divide patients with EOC into high- and low-risk groups. The patients in high-risk group had significantly shorter overall survival than those with in low-risk group. The LLPS-related gene signature was validated in the test set and may be an independent prognostic factor compared to routine clinical features. CONCLUSION: We constructed and validated an LLPS-related gene signature as a prognosis tool in EOC through integrated analysis of multiple data sets.