Lysosome-related genes: A new prognostic marker for lung adenocarcinoma

Currently, a reliable early prognostic marker has not been identified for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), the most common malignancy. Recent studies demonstrated that lysosomal rupture is involved in cancer migration, progression, and immune microenvironment formation. We performed a bioinformatics analysis of lysosomal rupture to investigate whether lysosome-related genes (LRGs) are key in LUAD. The analysis identified 23 LRGs. Cytoscape visualization identified 10 core genes (CCNA2, DLGAP5, BUB1B, KIF2C, PBK, CDC20, NCAPG, ASPM, KIF4A, ANLN). With the 23 LRGs, we established a new risk scoring rule to classify patients with LUAD into high- and low-risk groups and verified the accuracy of the risk score by receiver operating characteristic curves and established a nomogram to evaluate clinical patients. Immunotherapy effectiveness between the high- and low-risk groups was evaluated based on the tumor mutational burden and analyses of immune cell infiltration and drug sensitivity. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed that lysosomes were closely associated with glucose metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and the immune response in patients with LUAD. Lysosomes are a likely new therapeutic target and provide new directions and ideas for treating and managing patients with LUAD.