Application of TRIM58 Gene Methylation-Based Minimal Residual Disease Assays in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer for Prognosis Prediction and Treatment Decision.

Abstract

Objective: To identify key genes associated with the prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) through bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation, exploring the expression of the TRIM58 gene and its potential effect as a tumor suppressor.

Methods: In this study, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially methylated genes (DMGs) related to lung adenocarcinoma and lung squamous cell carcinoma were selected from the TCGA dataset, with the Limma package in R software used for further filtering and intersection, followed by the assessment of the relationship between these genes and NSCLC prognosis using log-rank tests and univariate Cox regression analysis. Meanwhile, six clinical NSCLC cancer and adjacent tissue samples were collected, along with the detection of TRIM58 mRNA and protein levels using RT-PCR and Western blot.

Results: The study found that low expression of TRIM58 was significantly associated with poor prognosis in NSCLC patients, while experimental data suggested that the mRNA and protein expression levels of TRIM58 in NSCLC cancer tissues were significantly lower than those in adjacent normal tissues.

Conclusion: This study indicates that low expression of TRIM58 may serve as a marker for poor prognosis in NSCLC patients. The low expression of TRIM58 and its promoter methylation state may be used for detecting minimal residual disease (MRD), providing new insights into early diagnosis and prognostic assessments and aiding in formulating individualized treatment strategies. Additionally, future research should increase the sample size and intensively explore the functional mechanisms of TRIM58 so as to validate its clinical application value.