Establishment and validation of a risk-score prognostic model based on immunogenic cell death related genes for hepatocellular carcinoma in the Asian population

Abstract

Background:Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common form of liver cancer, which is known to be characterized by poor therapeutic effects and prognosis. The etiology of HCC is regionally variable, with hepatitis B virus (HBV) being the leading cause in most of Asia. Immunogenic cell death (ICD) is a form of cell death. Many studies have shown that ICD-related processes are closely associated with the treatment of HCC. Through this study, we tried to investigate the significance of ICD-related genes in the Asian HCC population and expected to provide new ideas for the treatment of HCC. Methods: We first downloaded transcriptomic data and clinical data related to HCC in Asian population from TCGA database. Then, we divided the samples into different subgroups based on the expression of ICD-related genes and performed tumor microenvironment differential analysis and enrichment analysis. In addition, we randomly divided the samples into train as well as test groups, and then constructed and validated an ICD gene-based risk-prognosis model for the Asian HCC population. Results: We divided the Asian HCC samples into two subgroups, including the ICD high expression and ICD low expression groups. We found that in the ICD low expression group, there was less immune cell and stromal cell infiltration, higher tumor purity, and better prognosis. We then also constructed a 5-gene risk-score prognostic model, including BAX, CASP8, HMGB1, HSP90AA1 and IL6, which was effective in predicting the prognosis of the Asian HCC population. Conclusion: Our study provides new insights into the role of ICDs in Asian HCC populations. The risk-score prognostic model based on five ICDs can assess the prognosis of Asian HCC populations, which also has the potential to be new targets for HCC treatment.