Construction of a Prognostic Signature in Ewing’s Sarcoma: Based on RNA-binding Genes

Abstract Background: Ewing’s sarcoma is the second most prevalent primary malignant bone neoplasm. RNA-binding proteins(RBPs) play a crucial role in post-transcriptional events. In tumor cells, the alterations of post-transcription enable cells to adapt to adjacent environment rapidly. Thus, the functions of RBPs in Ewing’s sarcoma can be of high value in the prognostic[1]. The underlying mechanism between Ewing’s sarcoma and RBPs remained unclear. Methods: Based on the GEO dataset, we investigated the global protein expression profile of Ewing's sarcoma patients. Differentially expressed proteins and survival-related RNA-binding protein related genes (RRGs) were evaluated by computational difference algorithm and COX regression analysis. In addition, we also explored the mutations in these RRGs. A new prognostic indicator based on RRGs was developed and tested afterwards using multivariate COX analysis.Results: The results showed that a total of 16 RRGs which closely associated with the overall survival in Ewing’s sarcoma patients using multivariate Cox regression analysis. The prognosis-related RRGs signature established using Cox regression model consists of 8 RRGs that can divide patients into high-risk and low-risk groups. Our results suggested that overall survival rate of high-risk group patients was shorter than the patients in low-risk group. According to multivariate Cox analysis, risk score index was an independent prognosis factor for Ewing’s sarcoma. In addition, the area under the curve of the corresponding receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of survival is 0.947.Conclusion: The 8 RRGs marker can predict the prognosis of Ewing’s sarcoma and thus help individualized treatment of patients at different risks.