Identification and validation of poor prognosis immunoevasive subtype of esophageal cancer with tumor-infiltrating SAMD3 + NK cell abundance.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Esophageal cancer (EC) remains highly lethal due to tumor microenvironment (TME)-mediated immune evasion. While natural killer (NK) cells are central to antitumor immunity, their functional states in EC are poorly characterized.

Methods

We integrated bulk RNA-seq (TCGA/GEO) and single-cell data to construct an NK cell-derived prognostic signature (NK score) via LASSO-Cox regression. Immunofluorescence was applied to assess the clinical relevance of SAMD3 + NK cells in EC. Using both xenograft mouse models and in vitro co-culture procedures, the impact of SAMD3 on NK cell function was confirmed.

Results

In EC patients, the prognostic NK score-which is generated from important NK cell markers including SAMD3-was substantially correlated with a worse chance

SUBMITTER: Huang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12009252 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature