{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.017371163867979156, 'fraction_numerical': 0.003474232773595831, 'mean_word_length': 5.884462151394422, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 1, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Identification of key genes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma microenvironment based on gene expression profile


 Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most prevalent malignancy worldwide with high incidence and mortality. Recently, it has been well established that tumor microenvironment (TME) is intimately associated with cancer progression, in which the infiltration of immune and stromal cells could be exploited as effective biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. In this study, we aimed to investigate HNSCC microenvironment to identify significant genes involved in carcinogenesis.
Methods: The ESTIMATE algorithm was applied to calculate immune scores and stromal scores based on the gene expression profiles downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and the correlation of these scores with clinical parameters and prognosis was further analyzed. Differential expression analysis and functional enrichment analysis were performed by R software.
Results: Immune scores and stromal scores were calculated by ESTIMATE algorithm and their correlations with clinicopathological characteristics of HNSCC patients were identified. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) based on two scores were identified and subjected to functional analysis, demonstrating their close associations with tumor immunity. Hub genes were selected from which CCR2, CCR4, CCR8 and P2RY14 were found to be significantly associated with the survival rate of HNSCC patients.
Conclusions: In summary, we made a comprehensive analysis of HNSCC microenvironment and illustrated several key immune-related genes, which may provide evidences for the development of precision immunotherapy.