Ferroptosis-Related Gene SLC1A5 Is a Novel Prognostic Biomarker and Correlates with Immune Microenvironment in HBV-Related HCC

Abstract

(1) Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide with limited treatment satisfaction. Finding new therapeutic targets has remained a major challenge. Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent cell death program that plays a regulatory role in HBV infection and HCC development. It is necessary to classify the roles of ferroptosis or ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) in HBV-related HCC progression. (2) Methods: We conducted a matched case-control study from the TCGA database, retrospectively collecting demographic data and common clinical indicators from all subjects. The Kaplan-Meier curve, univariate and multivariate cox regression analysis of the FRGs were used to explore the risk factors for HBV-related HCC. The CIBERSORT algorithm and TIDE algorithm were executed to evaluate the functions of FRGs in the tumor-immune environment. (3) Results: A total of 145 HBV-positive HCC patients and 266 HBV-negative HCC patients were enrolled in our study. Four ferroptosis related genes (FANCD2, CS, CISD1 and SLC1A5) were positively correlated with the progression of HBV-related HCC. Among them, SLC1A5 was an independent risk factor for HBV-related HCC, and correlated with poor prognosis, advanced progression and an immunosuppression microenvironment. (4) Conclusions: Here, we revealed that a ferroptosis-related gene, SLC1A5, may be an excellent predictor of HBV-related HCC and may provide insight into the development of innovative possible therapeutic techniques.