Several epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-associated genes (EAGs) have been confirmed to correlate with the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Herein, we explored the value of EAGs in the prognosis of HCC relying on data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. A total of 200 EMT-associated genes were downloaded from the Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) website. Moreover, 96 differentially expressed EAGs were identified. Using Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, we forecasted the potential molecular mechanisms of EAGs. To identify prognostic EAGs, Cox regression was used in developing a prognostic risk model. Then, the Kaplan-Meier and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to validate the prognostic significance of the model. A total of 5 prognostic correlated EAGs (P3H1, SPP1, MMP1, LGALS1, and ITGB5) were screened via Cox regression, which provided the basis for developing a novel prognostic risk model. Based on the risk model, patients were subdivided into high-risk and low-risk groups. The overall survival of the low-risk group was better compared to the high-risk group (P < 0.00001). The ROC curve of the risk model showed a higher AUC (Area under Curve) (AUC = 0.723) compared to other clinical features (AUC ≤ 0.511). A nomogram based on this model was constructed to predict the 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year overall survival rates (OS) of patients. Conclusively, we developed a novel HCC prognostic risk model based on the expression of EAGs, which help advance the prognostic management of HCC patients.

Abbreviations: HCC: hepatocellular carcinoma; TCGA: The Cancer Genome Atlas; EMT: epithelial-mesenchymal transition; EAGs: EMT-associated genes; GSEA: gene set enrichment analysis; GO: Gene Ontology; KEGG: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes; PPI: protein-protein interaction; TF: transcription factor; ROC: receiver operating characteristic; K-M: Kaplan-Meier; AUC: the area under the ROC curve; FDR: false discovery rate; TNM: Tumor size/lymph nodes/distance metastasis

几种上皮间质转化 (EMT) 相关基因 (EAG) 已被证实与肝细胞癌 (HCC) 患者的预后相关。在此，我们根据癌症基因组图谱 (TCGA) 数据库中的数据探讨了 EAG 在 HCC 预后中的价值。从基因集富集分析 (GSEA) 网站下载了总共 200 个 EMT 相关基因。此外，还鉴定了 96 个差异表达的 EAG。使用基因本体论 (GO) 富集分析和京都基因和基因组百科全书 (KEGG) 通路分析，我们预测了 EAG 的潜在分子机制。为了识别预后 EAG，Cox 回归用于开发预后风险模型。然后，绘制 Kaplan-Meier 和受试者工作特征 (ROC) 曲线以验证模型的预后意义。通过 Cox 回归筛选了总共 5 个与预后相关的 EAG（P3H1、SPP1、MMP1、LGALS1 和 ITGB5），这为开发新的预后风险模型提供了基础。根据风险模型，将患者细分为高危组和低危组。与高危组相比，低危组的总生存期更好（P <0.00001）。与其他临床特征（AUC ≤ 0.511）相比，风险模型的 ROC 曲线显示出更高的 AUC（曲线下面积）（AUC = 0.723）。构建基于该模型的列线图来预测患者的 1 年、2 年和 3 年总生存率 (OS)。最后，

缩写： HCC：肝细胞癌；TCGA：癌症基因组图谱；EMT：上皮间质转化；EAGs：EMT 相关基因；GSEA：基因集富集分析；GO：基因本体论；KEGG：京都基因和基因组百科全书；PPI：蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用；TF：转录因子；ROC：接收器操作特性；KM：卡普兰-迈尔；AUC：ROC曲线下面积；FDR：错误发现率；TNM：肿瘤大小/淋巴结/远处转移