Comprehensive characterization of a drug resistance-related ceRNA network across 15 anti-cancer drug categories

Abstract Cancer is still a major health problem around the world. The treatment failure of cancer has largely been attributed to drug resistance. Competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) are involved in various biological processes and thus influence the drug sensitivity of cancers. However, a comprehensive characterization of drug sensitivity-related ceRNAs has not yet been performed. In the present study, we constructed 15 ceRNA networks across 15 anti-cancer drug categories, involving 217 lncRNAs, 158 miRNAs and 1389 protein coding genes (PCGs). We found that these ceRNAs were involved in hallmark processes such as ‘self sufficiency in growth signals’, ‘insensitivity to antigrowth signals’ and so on. We then identified an intersection ceRNA network (ICN) across the 15 anti-cancer drug categories. We further identified interactions between genes in the ICN and clinically actionable genes (CAGs) by analyzing the co-expressions, protein-protein interactions, and transcription factor-target gene interactions. We found that certain genes in the ICN are correlated with CAGs. Finally, we found that genes in the ICN were aberrantly expressed in tumours and some were associated with patient survival time and cancer stage.