Integrative analysis of the characteristics of lipid metabolism-related genes as prognostic prediction markers for hepatocellular carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: Dysregulated lipid metabolism has been reported in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the present study. we investigated the molecular characteristics of lipid-metabolism-related genes (IMRGs) as prognostic markers for HCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Multi-dimensional bioinformatics analyses were performed to comprehensively analyze IMRGs, and to construct prognostic prediction signatures. RESULTS: Data of 770 HCC patients and their corresponding 776 IMRGs were downloaded from three databases. Patients were classified into 2 molecular clusters that were associated with overall survival, clinical characteristics, and immune cells. The biological functions of the IMRGs differentially expressed between the 2 clusters were associated with tumor-related metabolic pathways. A 6 IMRG signature (6-IS), consisting of FMO3, SLC11A1, RNF10, KCNH2, ME1, and ZIC2, was established as an independent prognostic factor for HCC. The performance of the signature of 6-IS prognostic was verified in a validation set and compared to an external data set. It was revealed that the 6-IS could effectively predict the prognosis of patients with HCC. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides new insights into the role of IMRGs in the pathogenesis of HCC, and presents a novel signature (6-IS) to predict the prognosis of HCC.