Background: N6-methyladenosine (m6A)isa common form of mRNA modification regulated by m6A RNA methylation regulators. However, studies have not explored the role of m6A-related lncRNA in gastric cancer (GC). This study aimed atexploring biological and prognostic roles of m6A-related lncRNA in GC.
Methods: We identified 800 m6A-related lncRNAs through correlation analysis of 13 main m6A RNA methylation regulators and all lncRNAs expressed in GC. We further categorized patients into train group and testing group equally.
Results: A total of 11 m6A-related lncRNA signature associated with prognosis of GC were identified through univariate cox regression analysis and LASSO analysis which was validated using the testing dataset and complete dataset, respectively. More deaths and shorter survival time were reported for patients in the high-risk group compared to low-risk group. lncRNA signature is an independent prognosis predictor as shown by cox regression analysis of the complete dataset. Moreover, genes involved in base excision repair were highly expressed in patients in the high-risk group as shown by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) result whereas ECM receptor interaction and focal adhesion pathway were enriched in low-risk group. A nomogram on independent factors showed clinical net benefit asan overall survival predictor of GC. In addition, we identified four subgroups of GC patients with significant differences in overall survival (OS).Subgroup C1 and C2 responded well to immunotherapy, compared to subgroup C3 and C4.
Conclusions: m6A-related lncRNA signature and four molecular subgroups provide information on the underlying molecular mechanism of GC and provide for a basis for development ofpersonalized therapy.