Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1495280

Deciphering the Heterogeneity and Plasticity of the Tumor Microenvironment in Liver Cancer Provides Insights for Prognosis

Provisionally accepted
Yihao Sun Yihao Sun 1Guojuan Shi Guojuan Shi 1,2Jian Yang Jian Yang 3Chun-Zhong Zhou Chun-Zhong Zhou 1Chuhan Peng Chuhan Peng 4Yu-Hong Luo Yu-Hong Luo 1Ying Pan Ying Pan 5Rui-Qi Wang Rui-Qi Wang 1*
  • 1 Department of Pharmacy, Zhuhai People's Hospital, Zhuhai, China
  • 2 Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tumor Interventional Diagnosis and Treatment, Zhuhai Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhuhai People’s Hospital, Zhuhai, China
  • 3 Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Zhuhai People's Hospital, Zhuhai, China
  • 4 Canyon Crest Academy, San Diego, California, United States
  • 5 Department of Oncology, Zhuhai People's Hospital, Zhuhai, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Liver cancer exhibits diverse molecular characteristics and distinct immune cell infiltration patterns, which significantly influence patient outcomes. In this study, we thoroughly examined the liver cancer tumor environment by analyzing data from 419,866 individual cells across nine datasets involving 99 patients. By categorizing patients into different groups based on their immune cell profiles, including immune deficiency, B cells-enriched, T cells-enriched and macrophages-enriched, we better understood how these cells change in various patient subgroups. Our investigation of liver metastases from intestinal cancer uncovered a group of mast cells that might promote metastasis through pathways like inositol phosphate metabolism. Using genomic and clinical data from TCGA, we identified specific cell components linked to tumor characteristics and genetics. Our detailed study of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) revealed how they adapt and acquire new functions in the tissue environment, highlighting their flexibility. Additionally, we found a significant connection between CAF-related genes and the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma patients. This research CAFs in liver cancer 2 provides valuable insights into the makeup of the liver cancer tumor environment and its profound impact on patient outcomes, offering fresh perspectives for managing this challenging disease.

    Keywords: liver cancer, single-cell, cancer-associated fibroblasts, metastasis, prognosis

    Received: 12 Sep 2024; Accepted: 13 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Sun, Shi, Yang, Zhou, Peng, Luo, Pan and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Rui-Qi Wang, Department of Pharmacy, Zhuhai People's Hospital, Zhuhai, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.