Shared network pattern of lung squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma illuminates therapeutic targets for non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a malignant tumor with high mortality. Lung squamous carcinoma (LUSC) and lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) are the common subtypes of NSCLC. However, how LUSC and LUAD are compatible remains to be elucidated. METHODS: We used a network approach to find highly interconnected genes shared with LUSC and LUAD, and we then built modules to assess the degree of preservation between them. To quantify this result, Z-scores were used to summarize the interrelationships between LUSC and LUAD. Furthermore, we correlated network hub genes with patient survival time to identify risk factors. RESULTS: Our findings provided a look at the regulatory pattern for LUSC and LUAD. For LUSC, several genes, such as AKR1C1, AKR1C2, and AKR1C3, play key roles in regulating network modules of cell growth pathways. In addition, CCL19, CCR7, CCL21, and LY9 are enriched in LUAD network modules of T lymphocyte-related pathways. LUSC and LUAD have similar expressed gene expression patterns. Their networks share 46 hub genes with connectivity greater than 0.9. These genes are correlated with patient survival time. Among them, the expression level of COL5A2 in LUSC and LUAD is higher than that in normal tissues, which is closely related to the poor prognosis of LUSC and LUAD patients. CONCLUSION: LUSC and LUAD share a network pattern. COL5A2 may be a risk factor in poor prognosis in LUSC and LUAD. The common landscape of LUSC and LUAD will help better define the regulation of NSCLC candidate genes and achieve the goals of precision medicine.