Antitumor immunity and prognosis value elicited by FAT3 and LRP1B co-mutation in endometrial cancer

Gynecol Oncol. 2024 Apr 30:187:1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.ygyno.2024.04.023. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Objective: FAT3 and LRP1B are two tumor suppressor genes with high mutation frequency in multiple cancer types, we sought to investigate the prognostic and immunological significance of these two genes in EC.

Methods: Based on a cohort of 502 EC samples, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of its multidimensional data types including genomic, transcriptomic, and clinical information, the potential impact of FAT3 and LRP1B co-mutation on antitumor immune response and prognosis were systematically discussed.

Results: We observed that FAT3 and LRP1B co-mutation was not only defined a dataset with prominently increased TMB, decreased tumor aneuploidy, and specially enriched in MSI-H subtype, but also manifested increased expression of immune-related markers, especially exclusive upregulation of PD-L1 levels and higher PD-L1+/CD8A+ proportion. Further analysis focused on lymphocyte infiltration and pathway enrichment explored the immune cell composition of the microenvironment and underlying molecular mechanisms affecting tumor development. Furthermore, EC patients with FAT3 and LRP1B co-mutation possessed significantly prolonged PFS and OS, and the co-mutation status was proved to be an independent prognostic factor. And a nomogram with high predictive performance was constructed by incorporating co-mutation with clinical features. More strikingly, the prognosis of MSI-H patients in EC with co-mutation was significantly improved, and their survival reached a level consistent with the POLE subtype.

Conclusions: In endometrial cancer, co-mutation of FAT3 and LRP1B not only leads to activation of the immune state, but also represents a subgroup with an improved prognosis, particularly in the MSI-H subtype.

Keywords: Endometrial cancer; FAT3; Immune response; LRP1B; Prognosis.