Prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor subtypes and risk models constructed based on the common pathway of ulcerative colitis and colon cancer

Objectives: Patients with long-term ulcerative colitis (UC) have a significantly increased risk of colon cancer compared to normal individuals. By analyzing the pathways of ulcerative colitis and colon cancer, we identified a common risk pathway - Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF). Methods: Based on the Gene Set Variation Analysis (GSVA) scores of the VEGF pathway in colon cancer patients, we divided them into three groups: high, medium, and low. We performed clinical characteristic and immune-related analyses on these three groups, conducted differential gene analysis, performed univariate and multivariate Cox analyses on the differential genes to screen out gene signatures. A risk model was constructed and validated in the UC cohort. Colon cancer patients were classified into high-and low-risk groups based on risk scores, clinical characteristics, immune microenvironment, immunotherapy, and drug sensitivity were analyzed for both groups. Results: The high expression group had higher clinical staging and pathologic staging, higher immune microenvironment scores, and greater immune cell content. The risk model we constructed demonstrated good prognostic predictive ability not only for colon cancer but also for UC. The high-risk group had a lower survival rate, while the low-risk group had a better response to immunotherapy. Conclusions: These findings provide new insights into the treatment of colon cancer.