Correlation of NTRK1 Downregulation with Low Levels of Tumor-Infiltrating Immune Cells and Poor Prognosis of Prostate Cancer Revealed by Gene Network Analysis

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a life-threatening heterogeneous malignancy of the urinary tract. Due to the incidence of prostate cancer and the crucial need to elucidate its molecular mechanisms, we searched for possible prognosis impactful genes in PCa using bioinformatics analysis. A script in R language was used for the identification of Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) from the GSE69223 dataset. The gene ontology (GO) of the DEGs and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed. A protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the STRING online database to identify hub genes. GEPIA and UALCAN databases were utilized for survival analysis and expression validation, and 990 DEGs (316 upregulated and 674 downregulated) were identified. The GO analysis was enriched mainly in the “collagen-containing extracellular matrix”, and the KEGG pathway analysis was enriched mainly in “focal adhesion”. The downregulation of neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase 1 (NTRK1) was associated with a poor prognosis of PCa and had a significant positive correlation with infiltrating levels of immune cells. We acquired a collection of pathways related to primary PCa, and our findings invite the further exploration of NTRK1 as a biomarker for early diagnosis and prognosis, and as a future potential molecular therapeutic target for PCa.