Classification and clinical value of three immune subtypes of ovarian cancer based on transcriptome data

Abstract

Compelling evidence suggests that immune infiltration is involved in the occurrence of OC. In addition, previous studies demonstrated the effect of Tumor-infiltrating Immune Cells (TIICs) on the development of OC. However, few studies have found the immune genomic profile and immune subclasses of OC based on transcriptome data, which may help to optimally stratify patients who respond to immunotherapy. The present study used unsupervised hierarchical clustering to identify three immunogenomic subgroups, termed hyperimmunogenic (Immunity_H), moderately immunogenic (Immunity_M) and hypoimmunogenic (Immunity_L), based on two publicly available OC transcriptomics datasets. Each subtype was associated with specific pathways. Furthermore, the Immunity_H subtype had higher levels of immune cell infiltration, antitumor immunoreactivity and better survival prognosis compared to the other subtypes. The potential chemotherapeutic targets for OC were assessed in the GDSC dataset. Several potential drug targets for the treatment of OC were identified, including Parthenolide and the AKT inhibitor VIII, Paclitaxel. In addition, the Immunity_H subgroup had an early FIGO stage and was more likely to respond to immunotherapy. The characterization of immune-based OC subgroups may provide useful insights for the treatment of OC and has the potential to guide personalized treatment of OC patients through immunotherapy.