Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40102844›Full record

ArticleCancer cell international2025

Integrated analysis reveals an immune evasion prognostic signature for predicting the overall survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Jiahua Wen, Kai Wen, Meng Tao, Zhenyu Zhou, Xing He, Weidong Wang, Zian Huang, Qiaohong Lin, Huoming Li, Haohan Liu and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cancer cell international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Genes · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Jiahua Wen *Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
Kai Wen *Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
Meng Tao *Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
Zhenyu ZhouDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
Xing HeGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Weidong WangDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
Zian HuangDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
Qiaohong LinDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
Huoming LiDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
Haohan LiuDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, China. liuhh63@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
Yongcong YanDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, China. yanyc3@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
Zhiyu XiaoDepartment of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, China. xiaozhiy@mail.sysu.edu.cn.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 82073045National Natural Science Foundation of China 82103090National Natural Science Foundation of China 82403734
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe development of immunotherapy has enriched the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the efficacy is not as expected, which may be due to immune evasion. Immune evasion is related to the immune microenvironment of HCC, but there is little research on it.

methodsWe employed unsupervised clustering analysis to categorize patients from TCGA based on 182 immune evasion-related genes (IEGs). We utilized single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) and CIBERSORT to calculate differences in immune cell infiltration between clusters. The differences in immune cells and immune-related pathways were assessed using GSEA. We constructed an immune escape prognosis signature (IEPS) using univariate Cox and LASSO Cox algorithms and evaluated the predictive performance of IEPS with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and survival curves. Additionally, we established a nomogram for clinical application based on IEPS. IHC validated the expression of Carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 2, Aspartate transcarbamylase, and Dihydroorotase (CAD) and Phosphatidylinositol Glycan Anchor Biosynthesis Class U (PIGU) in HCC. We transfected liver cancer cell lines with siRNA and overexpression plasmids, and confirmed the relationship between CAD, PIGU, and the potential downstream TGF-β1 in HCC using qRT-PCR and Western blot. Finally, we validated the tumor response of CAD overexpression using an animal model.

resultsUnsupervised clustering analysis based on IEGs divided HCC patients from TCGA into two groups. There were significant differences in prognosis and immune characteristics between the two groups of patients. Scoring of TCGA patients using IEPS revealed that higher scores were associated with poorer overall survival (OS). Validation was performed using the ICGC database. TIME analysis indicated that patients in the high-IEPS group were in an immunosuppressive state, possibly due to a significant increase in Treg infiltration. Compared to normal liver cells, HCC cells expressed higher levels of CAD and PIGU. Cellular experimental results showed a positive correlation between CAD, PIGU and the potential downstream TGF-β1 expression. Animal experiments demonstrated that CAD significantly promoted tumor progression, with an increase in Treg infiltration.

conclusionIEPS has strong prognostic value for HCC patients, and CAD and PIGU provide perspectives on new biomarkers and therapeutic targets for HCC.

Indexed as

CADHepatocellular carcinomaImmune evasionPrognostic signatureRegulatory T cells

Identifiers

PMID40102844
PMCPMC11916977

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.