Integrative analysis of highly mutated genes in hepatitis B virus-related hepatic carcinoma

Gene mutation is responsible for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection; however, the characteristics and associated biological functions of highly mutated genes, in which the mutation frequencies are at least 5% in HCC patients with HBV infection, are not clearly evaluated. In the study, we analyzed the information regarding somatic mutation obtained by whole-exome sequencing in 280 HBV-related HCC tissues from public databases and published studies. Via integrative analysis, 78 genes, including TP53, TTN, MUC16, CTNNB1, and PCLO were summarized as highly mutated genes, and some of these mutated genes were further identified as cancer driver genes. Besides, we discovered that the highly mutated genes were enriched with various biological functions and pathways. The expression of many of highly mutated genes was found to be significantly altered in HBV-related HCC, and several highly mutated genes were related to a variety of clinical factors and associated with the poor survival of the disease. Taken together, these results could enrich our understanding of highly mutated genes and their relationships with HBV-related HCC. Some of the identified highly mutated genes might be used as novel biomarkers of disease prognosis, or as molecular targets for the treatment of HCC with HBV infection.