Bioinformatics Analysis Identifies Lipid Droplet‐Associated Gene Signatures as Promising Prognostic and Diagnostic Models for Endometrial Cancer

ABSTRACT Background Effective diagnostic and prognostic tools are critical for early detection and improved outcomes in endometrial cancer (EC). Although metabolic dysregulation plays a key role in EC pathogenesis, the clinical relevance of lipid droplet–associated genes (LDAGs) remains largely unex...

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Main Authors: Vijayalakshmi N. Ayyagari, Miao Li, Paula Diaz‐Sylvester, Kathleen Groesch, Teresa Wilson, Ejaz M. Shah, Laurent Brard
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-08-01
Series:Cancer Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/cnr2.70313
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author Vijayalakshmi N. Ayyagari
Miao Li
Paula Diaz‐Sylvester
Kathleen Groesch
Teresa Wilson
Ejaz M. Shah
Laurent Brard
author_facet Vijayalakshmi N. Ayyagari
Miao Li
Paula Diaz‐Sylvester
Kathleen Groesch
Teresa Wilson
Ejaz M. Shah
Laurent Brard
author_sort Vijayalakshmi N. Ayyagari
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Background Effective diagnostic and prognostic tools are critical for early detection and improved outcomes in endometrial cancer (EC). Although metabolic dysregulation plays a key role in EC pathogenesis, the clinical relevance of lipid droplet–associated genes (LDAGs) remains largely unexplored. This study aims to establish LDAG‐based gene signatures with strong diagnostic and prognostic potential in EC. Aims To identify LDAG signatures with prognostic and diagnostic utility in EC. Methods and Results A curated set of LDAGs was systematically analyzed across publicly available EC datasets to identify differentially expressed LDAGs (DE‐LDAGs). Survival‐associated DE‐LDAGs were then identified using univariate Cox regression. A four‐gene prognostic model was developed through LASSO‐based feature selection followed by multivariate Cox regression and validated using Kaplan–Meier survival and time‐dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. From the same pool of survival‐associated DE‐LDAGs, a six‐gene diagnostic model was constructed using LASSO, ROC analysis, and logistic regression. Model performance was evaluated using ROC curves and support vector machine (SVM) classification. Functional enrichment and protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analyses were conducted to assess the biological relevance of the identified genes. Our results demonstrate that the four‐gene prognostic model (LMLN, LMO3, PRKAA2, and RAB10) stratified EC patients into high‐ and low‐risk groups with significantly different survival outcomes (p < 0.05; time‐dependent AUC > 0.70). The six‐gene diagnostic model (AIFM2, ABCG1, LIPG, DGAT2, LPCAT1, and VCP) demonstrated near‐perfect classification of tumor versus normal tissues (AUC ≈0.99 in ROC analysis; 99.8% accuracy in SVM analysis). Functional enrichment linked DE‐LDAGs to lipid metabolism, ER stress response, cholesterol homeostasis, and autophagy, underscoring their biological relevance in EC pathobiology. Conclusion This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of LDAGs in EC, establishing robust prognostic and diagnostic gene signatures with strong biological relevance. These signatures support a metabolism‐driven framework for EC classification and may offer potential clinical utility in early detection, risk stratification, and personalized treatment.
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spelling doaj-art-2361bcf5ae6d4dedba2bab88611376092025-08-26T06:00:41ZengWileyCancer Reports2573-83482025-08-0188n/an/a10.1002/cnr2.70313Bioinformatics Analysis Identifies Lipid Droplet‐Associated Gene Signatures as Promising Prognostic and Diagnostic Models for Endometrial CancerVijayalakshmi N. Ayyagari0Miao Li1Paula Diaz‐Sylvester2Kathleen Groesch3Teresa Wilson4Ejaz M. Shah5Laurent Brard6Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Springfield Illinois USADivision of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Springfield Illinois USADivision of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Springfield Illinois USADivision of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Springfield Illinois USADivision of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Springfield Illinois USASimmons Cancer Institute Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Springfield Illinois USADivision of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Springfield Illinois USAABSTRACT Background Effective diagnostic and prognostic tools are critical for early detection and improved outcomes in endometrial cancer (EC). Although metabolic dysregulation plays a key role in EC pathogenesis, the clinical relevance of lipid droplet–associated genes (LDAGs) remains largely unexplored. This study aims to establish LDAG‐based gene signatures with strong diagnostic and prognostic potential in EC. Aims To identify LDAG signatures with prognostic and diagnostic utility in EC. Methods and Results A curated set of LDAGs was systematically analyzed across publicly available EC datasets to identify differentially expressed LDAGs (DE‐LDAGs). Survival‐associated DE‐LDAGs were then identified using univariate Cox regression. A four‐gene prognostic model was developed through LASSO‐based feature selection followed by multivariate Cox regression and validated using Kaplan–Meier survival and time‐dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. From the same pool of survival‐associated DE‐LDAGs, a six‐gene diagnostic model was constructed using LASSO, ROC analysis, and logistic regression. Model performance was evaluated using ROC curves and support vector machine (SVM) classification. Functional enrichment and protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analyses were conducted to assess the biological relevance of the identified genes. Our results demonstrate that the four‐gene prognostic model (LMLN, LMO3, PRKAA2, and RAB10) stratified EC patients into high‐ and low‐risk groups with significantly different survival outcomes (p < 0.05; time‐dependent AUC > 0.70). The six‐gene diagnostic model (AIFM2, ABCG1, LIPG, DGAT2, LPCAT1, and VCP) demonstrated near‐perfect classification of tumor versus normal tissues (AUC ≈0.99 in ROC analysis; 99.8% accuracy in SVM analysis). Functional enrichment linked DE‐LDAGs to lipid metabolism, ER stress response, cholesterol homeostasis, and autophagy, underscoring their biological relevance in EC pathobiology. Conclusion This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of LDAGs in EC, establishing robust prognostic and diagnostic gene signatures with strong biological relevance. These signatures support a metabolism‐driven framework for EC classification and may offer potential clinical utility in early detection, risk stratification, and personalized treatment.https://doi.org/10.1002/cnr2.70313diagnostic modelsendometrial cancerlipid dropletsprognostic models
spellingShingle Vijayalakshmi N. Ayyagari
Miao Li
Paula Diaz‐Sylvester
Kathleen Groesch
Teresa Wilson
Ejaz M. Shah
Laurent Brard
Bioinformatics Analysis Identifies Lipid Droplet‐Associated Gene Signatures as Promising Prognostic and Diagnostic Models for Endometrial Cancer
Cancer Reports
diagnostic models
endometrial cancer
lipid droplets
prognostic models
title Bioinformatics Analysis Identifies Lipid Droplet‐Associated Gene Signatures as Promising Prognostic and Diagnostic Models for Endometrial Cancer
title_full Bioinformatics Analysis Identifies Lipid Droplet‐Associated Gene Signatures as Promising Prognostic and Diagnostic Models for Endometrial Cancer
title_fullStr Bioinformatics Analysis Identifies Lipid Droplet‐Associated Gene Signatures as Promising Prognostic and Diagnostic Models for Endometrial Cancer
title_full_unstemmed Bioinformatics Analysis Identifies Lipid Droplet‐Associated Gene Signatures as Promising Prognostic and Diagnostic Models for Endometrial Cancer
title_short Bioinformatics Analysis Identifies Lipid Droplet‐Associated Gene Signatures as Promising Prognostic and Diagnostic Models for Endometrial Cancer
title_sort bioinformatics analysis identifies lipid droplet associated gene signatures as promising prognostic and diagnostic models for endometrial cancer
topic diagnostic models
endometrial cancer
lipid droplets
prognostic models
url https://doi.org/10.1002/cnr2.70313
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