A prognostic risk model of rectal cancer miRNA based on cuproptosis related genes

Aims: To screen and select cuproptosis microRNAs (miRNAs) correlated with rectal adenocarcinoma prognosis, and further explore their translational applications, by bioinformatic methods. Methods: Find differentially expressed cuproptosis miRNA between rectal cancer and normal tissue from public databases, then build up a prognostic risk model and further select specific miRNA by Cox regression and Lasso regression with corresponding clinical data. As for differentially expressed genes (DEGs), we combine immune-stromal score results from corresponding websites and the expression spectrum of rectal malignancies to select DEGs. Furthermore, we choose common DEGs by creating intersections for high- and low-risk group and perform functional enrichment analysis. Results: We find 5 cuproptosis related miRNA with statistical significance, namely hsa-mir-4254, hsa-mir-4698, hsa-mir-548ba, hsa-mir-567 and hsa-mir-8079. And by immune correlation analysis, we found 2 differentially expressed genes, TSPAN32 and TENM2. Conclusion: Those differentially expressed genes found in this study could provide potential therapeutic targets and markers for assessing the prognosis of rectal adenocarcinoma.