AUTHOR=Tian Jun , Ma Chongzhi , Yang Li , Sun Yang , Zhang Yuan 

TITLE=Prognostic Value and Immunological Characteristics of a Novel RNA Binding Protein Signature in Cutaneous Melanoma

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2021.723796

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2021.723796

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=Background: The existing studies indicate that RNA binding proteins (RBPs) is closely correlated with the genesis and development of cancers. However, the role of RBPs in cutaneous melanoma remains largely unknown. Therefore, the present study aims to establish a reliable prognostic signature based on RBPs to distinguish cutaneous melanoma patients with different prognoses and investigated the immune infiltration of patients.
Methods: After screening RBPs from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases, Cox and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis were then used to establish a prediction model. The relationship between the signature and the abundance of immune cell types, the tumor microenvironment (TME), immune-related pathways, and immune check points were also analyzed.
Results: In total, 7 RBPs were selected to establish the prognostic signature. Patients categorized as high-risk group demonstrated worse overall survival (OS) rates compared to those of patients categorized as low-risk group. The signature was validated in independent external cohort and indicated a promising prognostic ability. Further analysis indicated that the signature was signature was an independent prognostic indicator in cutaneous melanoma. A nomogram combining risk score and clinicopathological features was then established to evaluate the 3- and 5-year OS in cutaneous melanoma patients. Analyses of immune infiltrating, the TME, immune checkpoint, and drug susceptibility revealed the significant differences between two groups. GSEA analysis revealed that basal cell carcinoma, notch signaling pathway, melanogenesis pathways were enriched in the high-risk group, resulting in poor OS. 
Conclusions: We established and validated a robust 7-RBP signature that could be a potential biomarker to predict the prognosis and immunotherapy response of cutaneous melanoma patients, which provides new insights into cutaneous melanoma immunotherapeutic strategies.