Stratifying hepatocellular carcinoma based on immunophenotypes for immunotherapy response and prognosis

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Genetics

Background:

• Immunotherapy has revolutionized hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment, yet patient responses are inconsistent.
• Identifying predictive biomarkers and patient subtypes is crucial for optimizing HCC immunotherapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify biomarkers and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) subtypes that are responsive to immunotherapy.
• To investigate the role of Brother of CDO (BOC) in HCC immunotherapy response and tumor behavior.

Main Methods:

• Patients were stratified into Immunity-High (Immunity-H) and Immunity-Low (Immunity-L) subtypes using ssGSEA.
• Prognostic genes were identified via Cox regression; immune cell infiltration was quantified using TIMER 2.0.
• Brother of CDO (BOC) expression was analyzed using immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, CCK-8, and transwell assays.

Main Results:

• Immunity-H patients exhibited superior survival outcomes.
• Three hub genes (BOC, VSTM1, PRDM12) were linked to prognosis, with BOC and VSTM1 correlating positively with immune cell infiltration.
• Elevated BOC expression predicted favorable immunotherapy response and increased infiltration of T cells, dendritic cells, and B cells, while reducing HCC cell proliferation and invasiveness.

Conclusions:

• Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) subtypes based on immunogenomic profiles hold prognostic significance.
• Brother of CDO (BOC) serves as a potential biomarker for selecting immunotherapy and predicting patient outcomes in HCC.