Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of the prognostic value and immune infiltration of CAPN2 in pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Background: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) is a highly aggressive cancer with a poor prognosis, highlighting an urgent requirement for effective biomarkers for its early diagnosis and prognosis prediction. CAPN2, a calcium-dependent protease, has been implicated in various cancers, but its role in PAAD remains unclear.

Methods: In this study, we utilized multiple bioinformatics methods, including differential expression, survival, correlation, and enrichment analyses, to investigate the prognostic value of CAPN2 in PAAD using data from the TCGA and GEO databases. Additionally, the correlation between CAPN2 expression and the tumor microenvironment (TME), immunotherapy potential, and drug sensitivity was also explored.

Results: CAPN2 was upregulated in PAAD tissues and was correlated with higher tumor grade. And high expression of CAPN2 was significantly associated with reduced overall survival, establishing it as an independent prognostic biomarker for PAAD. Enrichment analysis implicated that CAPN2 was involved in multiple biological processes and pathways associated with tumor immunity. Furthermore, CAPN2 expression had a negative correlation with immune cell infiltration and a positive association with tumor mutational burden, which may have potential implications for immunotherapy strategies.

Conclusions: CAPN2 is a promising biomarker for PAAD prognosis and a potential therapeutic target. Its association with the TME and immunotherapy response highlights its importance in PAAD progression and patient outcomes, warranting further investigation into its role and potential clinical applications.