A novel immune-associated prognostic signature based on the immune cell infiltration analysis for hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Immune-related genes (IRGs) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are significantly associated with both tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TICs) and disease prognosis. Therefore, exploring the correlation between IRGs with HCC and its related mechanism will provide new evidence for the diagnosis and treatment of HCC. Methods The current paper analyzed the TICs in 374 HCC samples retrieved from the TCGA-LIHC dataset using ssGSEA and divided them according to the level of immune cell. A total of 177 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed by protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks and univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Results Four IRGs (C7, CTSV, MMP1, and VCAN) were found to be indicators of the immune prognosis for HCC according to the PPI network and Cox regression analyses of 177 DEGs, which was independently validated using an external dataset. A prognosis risk model was constructed for factors dependent on the four IRGs. Prognostic risk was associated with the subtype of infiltrating immune cells. Conclusions Four effective IRGs were identified as novel independent prognostic factors that were correlated with tumor immune infiltration in HCC. This signature may guide the choice of immunotherapy for HCC.