Identification and validation of stemness-related gene signatures to predict prognosis and immune infiltration in osteosarcoma reveals a critical role for S100A13

Our study demonstrates the presence of a cluster of cells with high-stemness characteristics in the tumor microenvironment of osteosarcoma. An effective prognostic model was established based on DEGs of the high-stemness cell cluster, and S100A13 was identified as a core gene through cross-enrichment analysis. Experimental validation confirmed that S100A13 plays a critical role in the malignant progression and stemness regulation of osteosarcoma. Therefore, S100A13 is not only a key gene in the stemness risk score but also a promising biomarker for prognosis and a potential therapeutic target for osteosarcoma, and it may facilitate the development of novel diagnostic and the therapeutic strategies to improve patient outcomes in osteosarcoma.