Abnormal Expression of N6-Methyladenosine RNA Methylation Regulator IGF2BP3 in Colon Cancer Predicts a Poor Prognosis

The value of insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 3 (IGF2BP3), an N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation regulatory factor, in the prognosis of colon cancer was still unclear. High levels of IGF2BP3 were expressed in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) samples and in human colon cancer tissues, which was associated with poorer overall survival (OS). We validated IGF2BP3 as an independent prognostic risk biomarker in COAD patients. Moreover, functional enrichment analysis suggested that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of groups with high versus low IGF2BP3 expression were related to immune- and cancer-related pathways. Furthermore, the tumor microenvironments of high- versus low-IGF2BP3 expression groups showed significant differences and IGF2BP3 predicted the efficiency of immunotherapy. Finally, protein-protein interaction network analysis suggested that there was a direct or indirect interaction among IGF2BP3, WNT7B, VANGL2, NKD1, AXIN2, RNF43, and CDKN2A. In brief, IGF2BP3 was confirmed as an independent prognostic signature in COAD patients and might be a therapeutic target in this study. Moreover, IGF2BP3 could be used in personalized immunotherapy for COAD.