DNA修复在不同类型癌症的发生和进展中发挥着至关重要的作用。然而，人们对 DNA 修复相关基因 (DRRG) 在食管癌 (EC) 中的作用知之甚少。本研究旨在鉴定 EC 中新的 DRRGs 预后特征。基因集富集分析（GSEA）筛选了 150 个与 DNA 修复相关的基因，这是 EC 中最重要的富集基因集。采用单变量和多变量Cox回归分析筛选与预后密切相关的DRRG。分析肿瘤组织和正常组织中hub DRRGs表达的差异。结合临床指标（包括年龄、性别和肿瘤分期），我们评估4-DRRGs特征是否是独立的预后因素。此外，我们使用受试者工作特征 (ROC) 曲线评估预测准确性，并通过列线图可视化模型的性能。通过 Cox 回归分析选择四个 DRRG（NT5C3A、TAF9、BCAP31 和 NUDT21）来建立预后特征有效地将患者分为高危组和低危组。 1 年和 3 年预后特征的时间依赖性 ROC 曲线下面积 (AUC) 分别为 0.769 和 0.720。与其他临床特征相比，风险评分对 EC 预后具有较强的预测能力，尤其是在 EC 早期。此外，我们构建了列线图来解释 4-DRRGs 特征的临床应用。总之，我们基于 DRRGs 确定了 EC 患者的预后特征，这可以为确定补充 TNM 系统的临床结果提供独立价值。 EC.2024 胃肠肿瘤学杂志。版权所有。

DNA repair plays a crucial role in the development and progression of different types of cancers. Nevertheless, little is known about the role of DNA repair-related genes (DRRGs) in esophageal cancer (EC). The present study aimed to identify a novel DRRGs prognostic signature in EC.Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to screen 150 genes related to DNA repair, which is the most important enrichment gene set in EC. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to screen DRRGs closely associated with prognosis. The difference in the expression of hub DRRGs between tumor and normal tissues was analyzed. Combined with clinical indicators (including age, gender, and tumor stage), we evaluated whether the 4-DRRGs signature was an independent prognostic factor. In addition, we evaluated the prediction accuracy using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and visualized the model's performance via a nomogram.Four-DRRGs (NT5C3A, TAF9, BCAP31, and NUDT21) were selected by Cox regression analysis to establish a prognostic signature to effectively classify patients into high- and low-risk groups. The area under the curve (AUC) of the time-dependent ROC of the prognostic signature for 1- and 3-year was 0.769 and 0.720, respectively. Compared with other clinical characteristics, the risk score showed a robust ability to predict the prognosis in EC, especially in the early stage of EC. Furthermore, we constructed a nomogram to interpret the clinical application of the 4-DRRGs signature.In conclusion, we identified a prognostic signature based on the DRRGs for patients with EC, which can contribute independent value in identifying clinical outcomes that complement the TNM system in EC.2024 Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology. All rights reserved.