A Signature of N6-methyladenosine Regulator-Related Genes Predicts Prognoses and Immune Responses for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

This study aimed to construct a signature of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) regulator-related genes that could be used for the prognosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and to clarify the molecular and immune characteristics and benefits of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy using the prognostic signature to define the subgroups of HNSCC. This study showed that eighteen m6A regulators were abnormally expressed in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) HNSCC tissues compared with those in normal tissues. We constructed a signature of 12 m6A regulator-related genes using the Cox risk model, combined with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) variable screening algorithm. Based on the median of the signature risk score, the patients were divided into high- and low-risk groups. The Kaplan–Meier survival analyses showed that patients with high-risk scores demonstrated poorer overall survival (OS) than those with low-risk scores based on TCGA-HNSCC data (p