Identification of Periostin as a Potential Biomarker in Gliomas by Database Mining.

BACKGROUNDBioinformatics analysis integrating microenvironmental factors and single cell analysis segregated the glioblastoma (GBM) subtype into 3 subtypes: proneural, classic, and mesenchymal. Mesenchymal GBM tends to have the worst survival but benefits from aggressive treatment protocols. Therefore, it is clinically meaningful to identify relevant biomarkers to distinguish the mesenchymal subtype. Moreover, in developing nations with limited resources, rigorous examinations are costly and inefficient for patient care.

METHODSIn this study, we analyzed The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-Glioblastoma and TCGA-Low-Grade Glioma RNA sequencing (RNAseq) cohorts and confirmed that the mesenchymal subtype was associated with the worst prognosis.

RESULTSWe identified periostin (POSTN) as a mesenchymal subtype biomarker with prognostic value across histologic grades and confirmed the reliability of POSTN by gene expression meta-analysis combining TCGA, Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) and REMBRANDT (Repository for Molecular Brain Neoplasia Data) GBM cohorts (hazard ratio, 1.71 [range, 1.47-2.07], n = 693) and LGG cohorts (hazard ratio, 2.55 [range, 1.61-4.05], n = 1226).

CONCLUSIONSBy using available online glioma databases, our study provided an insight into the expression of POSTN as an independent predictor for patients with glioma (GBM and LGG) and could be useful for diagnostic simplification to identify high-risk groups.