Construction of an immune-related prognostic model to predict prognosis and immunotherapy in liver cancer patients with hepatitis B virus-infected.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) appears to be strongly associated with immune-related genes. However, immune-related genes are not well understood as a prognostic marker in HCC caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). The purpose of this study was to investigate the prognostic significance of immune-related genes in HBV-infected HCC. Methods: Gene expression data from 114 HBV-infected HCC and 50 normal tissues were integrated into The Cancer Genome Atlas. Differentially expressed immune-associated genes were analyzed to identify immune-associated differential genes associated with overall survival. Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator and multivariate Cox regressions were used to constructing immunoprognostic models. An independent prognostic factor analysis using multiple Cox regressions was also performed for HBV-infected HCCs. Immunocorrelation analysis markers and immune cell infiltration were also investigated. Results: We found 113 differentially expressed immune-associated genes. Immune-related differential genes were significantly correlated with the overall survival of HCC patients. We constructed an immune-based prognostic model using multivariate Cox regression analysis including seven immune-related genes. According to further analysis, immune-related prognostic factors may serve as independent prognostic indicators in the clinical setting. There is also evidence that the 7-gene prognostic model reflects the tumor immune microenvironment as a result of the risk score model and immune cell infiltration. Conclusions: As a result of our study, we screened immune-related genes for prognosis in HBV-infected HCC and developed a novel immune-based prognostic model. The research not only provides new prognostic biomarkers but also offers insight into the tumor immune microenvironment and lays the theoretical groundwork for immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]