Figure 5. Transcriptomic analysis identifies HMMR as a key downregulated gene associated with poor prognosis. (A) Volcano plots showing differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in DLD1 cells treated with esketamine (1 mM), 5-FU (30 µM), or their combination for 48 h compared to the DMSO control. Red and blue dots represent significantly upregulated and downregulated genes, respectively (|log₂FC|> 1, FDR < 0.05). (B) Bar graphs displaying the top 50 upregulated and downregulated genes in each treatment group. (C) Venn diagram illustrating the overlap of downregulated DEGs among the three treatment groups, highlighting HMMR as a common target. (D) Kaplan-Meier survival analysis from the GEO dataset (GSE103479) showing the correlation between high HMMR expression and poor progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in CRC patients. FDR, false discovery rate; FC, fold change.