The exploration of new therapeutic targets for HPV-negative head and neck squamous cell cancer through the construction of a ceRNA network and immune microenvironment analysis

Previous studies have shown that human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative patients with head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) suffer from an unsatisfactory prognosis. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been verified to participate in many biological processes, including regulating gene expression as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs), while few studies focused the ceRNA network regulation mechanism in patients with HPV-negative HNSCC tumor. Meanwhile, the immune microenvironment may be critical in the development and prognosis of HPV-negative tumors. Our study aimed to further investigate the pathogenesis and potential biomarkers for the diagnosis, therapy and prognosis of HPV-negative HNSCC through a ceRNA network. Comprehensively analyzing the sequencing data of lncRNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs), and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in The Cancer Genome Atlas HNSCC dataset, we constructed a differentially expressed ceRNA network containing 131 lncRNAs, 35 miRNAs and 162 mRNAs. Then, survival analysis in the network was cited to explore the prognostic biomarkers. Eight mRNAs, nine lncRNAs, and one miRNA were identified to be associated with prognosis. Neuropilin (NRP) binding function, retinoid X receptor (RXR) binding, and the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling pathway were associated with the enrichment analysis, and they also related to the immune microenvironment. Combined with the analysis of the immune microenvironment differences, we obtained new targeted therapies using an RXR agonist, or a combination of the VEGF monoclonal antibody and an NRP antagonist, which may provide a promising future for HPV-negative HNSCC patients.