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Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) stands as one of the leading causes of cancer deaths worldwide. Studies have suggested that telomeres shortening is linked to genetic instability, higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer and pancreatic tumorigenesis. However, previous research has predominantly focused on either telomere length or specific telomere-related genes in pancreatic cancer. Therefore, it is essential to elucidate the association between telomere-related genes and pancreatic cancer to identify novel therapeutic strategies and establish prognostic biomarkers. Telomere-relevant genes were downloaded from the TelNet database. Expression data from primary tumour of The Cancer Genome Atlas-PAAD (TCGA-PAAD) cohort, the Genome Sequence Archive CRA001160 dataset and the GTEx database were obtained for screen for differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Gene set enrichment analisis was performed using the Enrichr software. The gene essentiality queried from the gene dependency database of the Achilles-DepMap project was also assessed. Finally, data of The Cancer Genome Atlas-PanCancer CaPa cohort and healthy pancreas from the GTEx database, obtained from the UCSC Xena project, were used to correlate gene expression with stemness signatures and clinical-pathological variables. We identified 300 telomere-associated DEGs, Of these, 73 genes were common to studies and they were to be enriched in biological processes related to the cell cycle and telomere homeostasis. The differentially expresed of ASS1, S100P, IGF2BP2, MET, ABCC3 and RAC1 genes were significantly associated with overall survival and recurrence-free survival, conferring them prognostic value. Furthermore, the expression profiles of these genes are significantly associated with the histological grade of the disease, as well as with tumour T-N classification, the presence of residual tumour, the degree of response to treatment and stemness signatures. Among these, three genes of particular interest (KLF3, RAC1 and ABI1) were identified and shown to be highly essential in pancreatic cancer cell lines. In summary, we have identified a telomere gene-related signature for pancreatic cancer, highlighting the prognostic value of KLF3, RAC1, and ABI1 genes. This signature is significantly associated with clinical-pathological variables of the disease, potentially offering new insights for individualized therapy. Citation Format: Erika Curiel Gómez, Vilma Maldonado Lagunas, Jorge Meléndez Zajgla. Telomere-related genes associated with clinical-pathological in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma abstract. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts) ; 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84 (6Suppl): Abstract nr 1645.
Gómez et al. (Fri,) studied this question.