Integrative Analysis of Lipid Metabolism-Associated Genes Unveils ALDH2 as a Prognostic Marker in Breast Cancer

Abstract The oncogenesis and development of breast cancer is closely related to abnormal lipid metabolism. We focused on the identification of pivotal lipid metabolism-associated genes (LMAGs) and constructed a prognostic signature (ALDH2, CYP21A2, and IL24) by LASSO and Cox regression. Survival and time-dependent ROC analysis demonstrated the predictive accuracy of our signature in both training and validation cohort. Additionally, patients in high-risk group showed an immunosuppressive phenotype with lower abundance of immune cells and down-regulation of recognized immune checkpoints. Subsequent cellular experiments indicated that the downregulaiton of ALDH2 was correlated with the aggressive behavior of breast cancer cells. These findings offer crucial insights into understanding the interplay between lipid metabolism and breast cancer progression, potentially paving the way for innovative strategies to impede breast cancer metastasis.