Expression of collagen type 1 alpha 1 indicates lymph node metastasis and poor outcomes in squamous cell carcinomas of the lung

Abstract

Analysis of the genome expression data resulted in 13 relevant hub genes that were differentially expressed in cancerous samples. All of these genes are associated with collagen biosynthesis within the tumor microenvironment. We chose Collagen Type 1 Alpha 1 (COL1A1) as the most relevant prognostic marker due to its high number of pathway connections and over expression in the tumor microenvironment compared to the other 12 genes. Additionally, based on analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas, tumors with higher levels of COL1A1 expression are associated with poorer overall survival. Finally, evaluation of clinical biopsy samples suggests that overexpression of COL1A1 in the LSCC microenvironment highly correlates with lymph node metastasis. These results suggest COL1A1 is a clinically relevant marker that should be used to justify lymphadenectomies.