Exploring radiation resistance-related genes in pancreatic cancer and their impact on patient prognosis and treatment

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by Miles

Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal malignancy marked by frequent local recurrence due to partial radio resistance, despite radiotherapy (often combined with chemotherapy) being critical for locally advanced disease. This study analyzes pancreatic cancer gene microarray data to identify differentially expressed genes related to radiotherapy, enrich biological pathways, and build a risk scoring model using univariate and multivariate Cox regression. Survival stratification and immune profile differences are assessed with Kaplan-Meier analyses and drug-sensitivity evaluation, with cross-dataset validation supporting stable prognostic prediction.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages23

Reading Time58 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Introduction

TYPE Original Research PUBLISHED 03 March 2025 DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1524798 OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY Zodwa Dlamini, Pan African Cancer Research Institute (PACRI), South Africa REVIEWED BY Yong Zhang, The Second Afﬁliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, China Xin Yu, Baylor College of Medicine, United States *CORRESPONDENCE Yu Zhao [zhaoyu@irm-cams.ac.cn](zhaoyu@irm-cams.ac.cn)[ ](zhaoyu@irm-cams.ac.cn)Sen Wang [wangsen@irm-cams.ac.cn](wangsen@irm-cams.ac.cn) †These authors have contributed equally to this work and share ﬁrst authorship RECEIVED 08 November 2024 ACCEPTED 10 February 2025 PUBLISHED 03 March 2025 CITATION Dai D, Wang S, Li J and Zhao Y (2025) Exploring radiation resistance-related genes in pancreatic cancer and their impact on patient prognosis and treatment. Front. Immunol. 16:1524798 . doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1524798 COPYRIGHT © 2025 Dai, Wang, Li and Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Exploring radiation resistancerelated genes in pancreatic cancer and their impact on patient prognosis and treatment Dong Dai 1,2†, Sen Wang 3*†, Jiaze Li 3† and Yu Zhao 3* 1 Department of Nuclear Medicine, Tianjin Cancer Hospital Airport Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Institute of Radiation Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China, 2 Department of Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin’s Clinical Research Center for China, Tianjin, China, 3Tianjin Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Molecular Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Radiation Medicine, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, China Background: Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal disease with increasing incidence worldwide. Despite surgical resection being the main curative option, only a small percentage of patients are eligible for surgery . Radiotherapy, often combined with chemotherapy, remains a critical treatment, especially for locally advanced cases. However, pancreatic cancer’s aggressiveness and partial radio resistance lead to frequent local recurrence. Understanding the mechanisms of radiotherapy resistance is crucial to improving patient outcomes. Methods: Pancreatic cancer related gene microarray data were downloaded from GEO database to analyze differentially expressed genes before and after radiotherapy using GEO2R online tool. The obtained differentially expressed genes were enriched by GO and KEGG to reveal their biological functions. Key genes were screened by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis, anda risk scoring model was constructed, and patients were divided into high-risk group and low-risk group. Subsequently, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to compare the survival differences between the two groups of patients, further analyze the differential genes of the two groups of patients, and evaluate their sensitivity to different drugs. Results: Our model identiﬁed 10 genes associated with overall survival (OS) in pancreatic cancer. Based on risk scores, patients were categorized into high-and low-risk groups, with signiﬁcantly different survival outcomes and immune proﬁle characteristics. High-risk patients showed increased expression of proinﬂammatory immune markers and increased sensitivity to speciﬁc chemotherapy agents, while low-risk patients had higher expression o

FAQs

Why is understanding radiotherapy resistance important in pancreatic cancer?

Pancreatic cancer often develops partial radio resistance, leading to frequent local recurrence even when radiotherapy is used, so identifying underlying mechanisms is crucial for improving outcomes.

How were the prognostic genes and risk model constructed?

Gene microarray data were processed to find differentially expressed genes before and after radiotherapy, enriched via GO/KEGG, then screened using univariate and multivariate Cox regression to build a risk scoring model.

What differences were observed between high-risk and low-risk patient groups?

High-risk patients showed distinct immune characteristics, including higher pro-inflammatory immune marker expression and increased sensitivity to specific chemotherapy agents, while low-risk patients showed higher immune checkpoint expression and potential sensitivity to targeted immunotherapies.

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by Miles