Identification of a chromatin regulator signature and potential candidate drugs for hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a cancerous tumor that has an unfavorable prognosis. The involvement of chromatin regulators (CRs) in the development of cancer is now supported by a growing body of research. Therefore, we aimed at investigate the function and prognostic importance of CRs in HCC patients. From the prior outstanding research, chromatin regulators (CRs) were obtained. The mRNA expression and clinical data were acquired from the TCGA database. Utilizing Cox regression analysis and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis, a risk model for predicting the outcome of HCC was created using the prognostic gene. The Kaplan-Meier analysis was conducted in order to compare the prognosis between high-risk and low-risk groups. We also looked into the differences in drug sensitivity between high-risk and low-risk groups. To estimate prospective small molecule drug therapy, the CMAP dataset was employed. A 13 CRs-based model for predicting the prognosis of HCC patients was effectively built and verified. Furthermore, we discovered that the 13 CRs-based model was a standalone prognostic factor. Functional analysis suggested that the majority of the signaling pathways involved in cancer were enriched in CRs. The immune checkpoint and immune cell infiltration were also associated with the CR-based model. Several medications, including Docetaxel, DMOG, Dasatinib, Axitinib, and Vorinostat, were more sensitive for patients in the high-risk category. Eight small molecule drugs could be beneficial in the treatment of people with HCC. As a result, our research offered novel perspectives into the function of CRs in HCC. We identified a trustworthy prognostic biomarker for the survival of HCC patients.