Pan-Cancer Analysis Reveals Distinct Metabolic Reprogramming in Different Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Activity States

Simple Summary: Recent genomic classification of tumors has stated that clinically refractory cancers aggregate as a distinct molecular subtype associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). EMT subtype tumors are clinically intractable due to shared malignant characteristics such as poor prognosis and metastasis and are resistant to chemotherapy and immune checkpoint blockades. Therefore, there is an urgent clinical need for the identification of potential therapeutic targets for this tumor subtype. Here, we profiled the metabolic signatures of 9452 samples across 31 cancer types based on EMT activity and identified that similar to 80 to 90% of cancer types had high carbohydrate and energy metabolism associated with the high EMT state. Furthermore, we identified CHST14 as a potential metabolic target for the EMT subtype for stomach cancer associated with reprogramming of energy metabolism. Our analyses identified metabolic reprogramming associated with EMT, suggesting metabolism-associated targets for clinically refractory cancer subtypes. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is critical for cancer development, invasion, and metastasis. Its activity influences metabolic reprogramming, tumor aggressiveness, and patient survival. Abnormal tumor metabolism has been identified as a cancer hallmark and is considered a potential therapeutic target. We profiled distinct metabolic signatures by EMT activity using data from 9452 transcriptomes across 31 different cancer types from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Our results demonstrated that similar to 80 to 90% of cancer types had high carbohydrate and energy metabolism, which were associated with the high EMT group. Notably, among the distinct EMT activities, metabolic reprogramming in different immune microenvironments was correlated with patient prognosis. Nine cancer types showed a significant difference in survival with the presence of high EMT activity. Stomach cancer showed elevated energy metabolism and was associated with an unfavorable prognosis (p < 0.0068) coupled with high expression of CHST14, indicating that it may serve as a potential drug target. Our analyses highlight the prevalence of cancer type-dependent EMT and metabolic reprogramming activities and identified metabolism-associated genes that may serve as potential therapeutic targets.

Automated summary

Genomic classification has identified a distinct molecular subtype of clinically refractory cancers associated with EMT. Metabolic profiling across different cancer types revealed high carbohydrate and energy metabolism linked to high EMT activity in 80 to 90% of cases. CHST14 was highlighted as a potential metabolic target for stomach cancer, indicating the importance of metabolism-associated genes in targeting therapy for cancer subtypes.