Open Access
ARTICLE
Pathological images for personal medicine in Hepatocellular carcinoma: Cross-talk of gene sequencing and pathological images
LI YANG1,2, KUN DENG3, ZHIQIANG MOU1,2, PINGFU XIONG1,2, JIAN WEN1,2, JING LI1,2,*
1 Department of General Surgery (Hepatobiliary Surgery), The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, China
2 Academician (Expert) Workstation of Sichuan Province, Luzhou, 646000, China
3 Department of General Surgery (Gastrointestinal Surgery), The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, China
* Corresponding Author: Jing Li,
Oncology Research 2022, 30(5), 243-258. https://doi.org/ 10.32604/or.2022.027958
Received 23 November 2022; Accepted 28 December 2022; Issue published 03 February 2023
Abstract
Background: Considering the great heterogeneity of Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), more accurate
prognostic models are urgently needed. This paper combined the advantages of genomics and pathomics to construct
a prognostic model.
Methods: First, we collected data from hepatocellular carcinoma patients with complete mRNA
expression profiles and clinical annotations from the TCGA database. Then, based on immune-related genes, we used
random forest plots to screen prognosis-related genes and build prognostic models. Bioinformatics was used to
identify biological pathways, evaluate the tumor microenvironment, and perform drug susceptibility testing. Finally,
we divided the patients into different subgroups according to the gene model algorithm. Pathological models were
constructed by obtaining HE-stained sections from TCGA in corresponding subgroups of patients.
Results: In this
study, we constructed a stable prognostic model that could predict overall survival in HCC patients. The signature
consisted of six immune-related genes (
BX537318.1,
TMEM147,
CSPG4P12,
AC015908.3,
CEBPZOS, and
SRD5A3).
We found increased levels of infiltration of immune cells in the tumor microenvironment in patients with low risk
scores, indicating significant antitumor immunity and corresponding to better clinical outcomes. We then screened
nine drugs that were more sensitive in the low-risk group than in the high-risk group. Finally, we addressed the
complex cellular changes and phenotypic heterogeneity in the HCC microenvironment by combining genomics and
pathomics analysis methods.
Conclusion: Our study showed that the prognostic evaluation model of HCC based on
the immune signaling pathway is feasible and provided a reference value for potential immunotherapy for HCC.
Keywords
Cite This Article
YANG, L., DENG, K., MOU, Z., XIONG, P., WEN, J. et al. (2022). Pathological images for personal medicine in Hepatocellular carcinoma: Cross-talk of gene sequencing and pathological images.
Oncology Research, 30(5), 243–258.