CD248(TEM1/CD164L1/Endosialin): A new molecular target for anti-angiogenic therapy in Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Abstract Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDCA) is one of the malignant tumors with the worst prognosis with a 5-year survival rate of <1%, which is known as the "king of cancers". At present, there is a lack of effective early diagnosis and treatment plan for pancreatic cancer. Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand the molecular mechanisms of pancreatic cancer to generate innovative approaches for the development of effective early diagnosis and treatment strategies.Methods: In this study, we performed single gene pan-cancer analysis, gene co-expression analysis and gene regulatory correlation analysis to understand the molecular mechanism of CD248 in pancreatic cancer using bioinformatics tools. Additionally, we provided potential molecular targets for pancreatic cancer treatment by constructing the lncRNA-miRNA-gene network axis.Results: The results showed that CD248 is differentially expressed in normal and tumor tissues, and abnormally high expression predicts poor prognosis, is a proto-oncogene in pancreatic cancer. Besides, CD248 is associated with angiogenesis of tumors. We obtained three new lncRNA-miRNA-gene network axes, namely AC008040.1-hsa-miR-200c-3p-CD248 axis, AC055822.1-hsa-miR-200c-3p-CD248 axis, RRN3P2-hsa-miR-200c-3p-CD248 axis that provide promising molecular targets for anti-angiogenic therapy and diagnostic biomarkers for pancreatic cancer.Conclusion: In conclusion, this study shows that over-expression of CD248 (TEM1/CD164L1/Endosialin) is always present in breast cancer and predicts a poor prognosis, associated with tumor angiogenesis, suggesting it as an attractive therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer.