A new oxidative stress-related lncRNA signature predicts the prognosis of colorectal cancer patients

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignant tumor of the digestive system with a high incidence. Increasing evidence suggests that oxidative stress (OS) generates high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and free radicals and is a significant factor in aging and disease. However, the predictive value of OS-related long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) in CRC is unclear. We constructed a survival predictor based on OS-related lncRNAs obtained from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA-COAD) to predict the prognosis of patients with CRC. The feature includes four lncRNAs, LINC02474, AL513550.1, SNHG16, and AL161729.4. The OS-related lncRNA signature demonstrated superior predictive accuracy to conventional clinicopathological parameters, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.768, indicating its potential as a robust prognostic biomarker. Furthermore, the nomogram based on risk scores and clinicopathological variables (age, gender, grade, stage, M stage, and N stage) showed strong predictive performance. High-risk patients were found to be more sensitive to treatment drugs ABT.263, AZD.0530, gefitinib, imatinib, PAC.1, and shikonin. The predictive model we constructed can independently predict the prognosis of patients with CRC. Further experimental validation and mechanistic studies are warranted to elucidate the precise role of OS-related lncRNAs in CRC pathogenesis.