Ferroptosis-related lncRNA signature predicts prognosis and immune microenvironment remodeling in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma
- 1Zhangzhou Affiliated Hospital of Fujian medical University
Abstract
Background Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent regulated cell death process increasingly recognized as a modulator of tumor progression and antitumor immunity. However, the role of ferroptosis-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in shaping the immune microenvironment of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) remains unclear. Methods TCGA transcriptomic and clinical data were analyzed to identify ferroptosis-related lncRNAs (FRLs) through co-expression analysis. A prognostic signature was constructed using a predefined LASSO Cox-based modelling strategy followed by multivariate Cox regression. Survival performance was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis, time-dependent ROC curves, calibration analysis, and the concordance index (C-index). Tumor immune infiltration was assessed using ssGSEA and ESTIMATE algorithms, and associations with immune checkpoint expression were examined. Results A four-lncRNA ferroptosis-related signature stratified LSCC patients into prognostically distinct groups and remained an independent predictor of overall survival in the TCGA-derived cohort. High-risk tumors exhibited reduced infiltration of activated CD8 + T cells, NK cells, and dendritic cells, along with enrichment of MDSCs. The risk score showed a weak-to-moderate negative correlation with PD-L1 expression and was associated with reduced adaptive immune signatures, suggesting an immune-cold phenotype that requires further experimental validation. Conclusions This study identifies a ferroptosis-related lncRNA signature associated with survival and immune microenvironment features in LSCC. These findings provide a hypothesis-generating framework for future experimental and clinical studies integrating ferroptosis-related biomarkers with immunotherapy research.
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BibTeX
@article{xu2026ferroptosisrelated,
title = {{Ferroptosis-related lncRNA signature predicts prognosis and immune microenvironment remodeling in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma}},
author = {Haibo Xu and Meiling Xu and Huijie Weng and Zhiwei Zhao and Yibin Zhou and Guifen Cai},
journal = {Discover Oncology},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1007/s12672-026-05647-0},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-026-05647-0},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Ferroptosis-related lncRNA signature predicts prognosis and immune microenvironment remodeling in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma
AU - Haibo Xu
AU - Meiling Xu
AU - Huijie Weng
AU - Zhiwei Zhao
AU - Yibin Zhou
AU - Guifen Cai
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Discover Oncology
DO - 10.1007/s12672-026-05647-0
UR - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-026-05647-0
AB - Background Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent regulated cell death process increasingly recognized as a modulator of tumor progression and antitumor immunity. However, the role of ferroptosis-related long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in shaping the immune microenvironment of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) remains unclear. Methods TCGA transcriptomic and clinical data were analyzed to identify ferroptosis-related lncRNAs (FRLs) through co-expression analysis. A prognostic signature was constructed using a predefined LASSO Cox-based modelling strategy followed by multivariate Cox regression. Survival performance was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis, time-dependent ROC curves, calibration analysis, and the concordance index (C-index). Tumor immune infiltration was assessed using ssGSEA and ESTIMATE algorithms, and associations with immune checkpoint expression were examined. Results A four-lncRNA ferroptosis-related signature stratified LSCC patients into prognostically distinct groups and remained an independent predictor of overall survival in the TCGA-derived cohort. High-risk tumors exhibited reduced infiltration of activated CD8 + T cells, NK cells, and dendritic cells, along with enrichment of MDSCs. The risk score showed a weak-to-moderate negative correlation with PD-L1 expression and was associated with reduced adaptive immune signatures, suggesting an immune-cold phenotype that requires further experimental validation. Conclusions This study identifies a ferroptosis-related lncRNA signature associated with survival and immune microenvironment features in LSCC. These findings provide a hypothesis-generating framework for future experimental and clinical studies integrating ferroptosis-related biomarkers with immunotherapy research.
SN - 2730-6011
ER -