A Robust Signature Based on Autophagy-Associated LncRNAs for Predicting Prognosis in Lung Adenocarcinoma

Objective. To construct a predictive signature based on autophagy-associated lncRNAs for predicting prognosis in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Materials and Methods. Differentially expressed autophagy genes (DEAGs) and differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) were screened between normal and LUAD samples at thresholds of divide log2Fold Change divide >1 and P value < 0.05. Univariate Cox regression analysis was conducted to identify overall survival- (OS-) associated DElncRNAs. The total cohort was randomly divided into a training group (n=229) and a validation group (n=228) at a ratio of 1 : 1. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to build prognostic models in the training group that were further validated by the area under curve (AUC) values of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves in both the validation and total cohorts. Results. A total of 30 DEAGs and 2997 DElncRNAs were identified between 497 LUAD tissues and 54 normal tissues; however, only 1183 DElncRNAs were related to the 30 DEAGs. A signature consisting of 13 DElncRNAs was built to predict OS in lung adenocarcinoma, and the survival analysis indicated a significant OS advantage of the low-risk group over the high-risk group in the training group, with a 5-year OS AUC of 0.854. In the validation group, survival analysis also indicated a significantly favorable OS for the low-risk group over the high-risk group, with a 5-year OS AUC of 0.737. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses indicated that only positive surgical margin (vs negative surgical margin) and high-risk group (vs low-risk group) based on the predictive signature were independent risk factors predictive of overall mortality in LUAD. Conclusions. This study investigated the association between autophagy-associated lncRNAs and prognosis in LUAD and built a robust predictive signature of 13 lncRNAs to predict OS.