Background: Gastric cancer (GC) ranks among the most prevalent malignancies globally, contributing significantly to both morbidity and mortality. Ferroptosis, a unique iron-dependent form of cell death, has been implicated in various cancers, including GC. This study investigated the association between ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) and GC using bioinformatics analyses. Methods: Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using a publicly available microarray dataset. Genes associated with ferroptosis were then extracted, and their overlap with the DEGs was assessed. To gain further insights, functional enrichment analysis was performed, followed by the prediction of microRNA (miRNA) and transcription factor (TF) interactions. Additionally, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed. Key genes were identified using the CytoHubba extension in Cytoscape, and their prognostic value was analyzed through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve evaluation. Results: Overall, 3242 DEGs were identified, of which 78 were ferroptosis-related (DEFRGs). These DEFRGs were enriched in pathways such as ferroptosis and pathways in cancer. Among them, hsa-miR-106a-5p and SP1 were identified as key miRNA and TF, respectively. The PPI network revealed five hub genes: TP53, MDM2, KRAS, IL6, and PTGS2. ROC curve analysis demonstrated that all hub genes have excellent prognostic value for GC. Conclusion: This study highlights the critical association between GC and ferroptosis-related genes using bioinformatics tools. These findings provide insights for future investigations and the development of targeted therapies against GC.
Maddah et al. (Thu,) studied this question.