AUTHOR=Zhang Yi-Gan , Jin Ming-Zhu , Zhu Xiao-Ran , Jin Wei-Lin 

TITLE=Reclassification of Hepatocellular Cancer With Neural-Related Genes

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2022.877657

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2022.877657

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<p>Neural infiltration is a critical component of the tumor microenvironment; however, owing to technological limitations, its role in hepatocellular cancer remains obscure. Herein, we obtained the RNA-sequencing data of liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) from The Cancer Genome Atlas database and performed a series of bioinformatic analyses, including prognosis analysis, pathway enrichment, and immune analysis, using the R software packages, Consensus Cluster Plus and Limma. LIHC could be divided into two subtypes according to the expression of neural-related genes (NRGs); moreover, there are statistic differences in the prognosis, stage, and immune regulation between the two subtypes. The prognostic model showed that high expression of NRGs correlated with a poor survival prognosis (<italic>P</italic>&lt;0.05). Further, <italic>CHRNE</italic>, <italic>GFRA2</italic>, <italic>GFRA3</italic>, and <italic>GRIN2D</italic> was significantly correlated with LIHC clinical prognosis, clinical stage, immune infiltration, immune response, and vital signaling pathways. There was nerve-cancer crosstalk in LIHC. A reclassification of LIHC based on NRG expression may prove beneficial to clinical practice. <italic>CHRNE</italic>, <italic>GFRA2</italic>, <italic>GFRA3</italic>, and <italic>GRIN2D</italic> may serve as potential biomarker for liver cancer prognosis or immune response.</p>