Computational Identification of Immune- and Ferroptosis-Related LncRNA Signature for Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which were implicated in many pathophysiological processes including cancer, were frequently dysregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Studies have demonstrated that ferroptosis and immunity can regulate the biological behaviors of tumors. Therefore, biomarkers that combined ferroptosis, immunity, and lncRNA can be a promising candidate bioindicator in clinical therapy of cancers. Many bioinformatics methods, including Pearson correlation analysis, univariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) analysis, and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis were applied to develop a prognostic risk signature of immune- and ferroptosis-related lncRNA (IFLSig). Finally, eight immune- and ferroptosis-related lncRNAs (IFLncRNA) were identified to develop and IFLSig of HCC patients. We found the prognosis of patients with high IFLSig will be worse, while the prognosis of patients with low IFLSig will be better. The results provide an efficient method of uniting critical clinical information with immunological characteristics, enabling estimation of the overall survival (OS). Such an integrative prognostic model with high predictive power would have a notable impact and utility in prognosis prediction and individualized treatment strategies.

Automated summary

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in various pathophysiological processes, including cancer, with frequent dysregulation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). By combining ferroptosis, immunity, and lncRNA, potential biomarkers for clinical cancer therapy have been identified. The development of an immune- and ferroptosis-related lncRNA risk signature (IFLSig) using bioinformatics methods has shown association with prognosis in HCC patients.