A novel four-snoRNA signature for predicting the survival of patients with uveal melanoma

Uveal melanoma (UM), the predominant histological subtype of intraocular malignant tumors in adults, often results in high rates of mortality; effective prognostic signatures used to predict the survival of patients with UM are limited. Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are emerging as important regulators in the processes of carcinogenesis and tumor progression, but knowledge of their application as prognostic markers in UM is limited. In the present study, the expression profiles of snoRNAs in UM were determined; a total of 60 snoRNAs were notably associated with the overall survival of patients with UM via univariate Cox survival analysis. Subsequently, a prognostic signature based on four snoRNAs was proposed, which retained their prognostic significance determined by a multivariate Cox survival analysis. The formula is as follows: ACA17 * (-1.602) + ACA45 * 0.803 + HBII-276 * 0.603 + SNORD12 * 1.348. Furthermore, the results of in silico analysis indicated that perturbation of the phototransduction, GABAergic synapse and amphetamine addiction pathways may be the potential molecular mechanisms underlying the poor prognosis of patients with UM. Collectively, the present study proposed a potential prognostic signature for patients with UM and the prospective mechanisms at the genome-wide level were determined.