Profiles of m(6)A RNA methylation regulators for the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma

N6-methyladenosine (m(6)A) RNA methylation, which is related to cancer initiation and progression, is dynamically regulated by the m(6)A RNA methylation regulators (including ‘writers’, ‘erasers’ and ‘readers’). However, the prognostic value of m(6)A RNA methylation regulators involved in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) carcinogenesis and progression remains to be elucidated. The aim of the present study was to determine the prognostic score in predicting the prognosis of HCC patients based on these regulators. In The Cancer Genome Atlas, most of the 13 major m(6)A RNA methylation regulators were found to be differentially expressed between HCC and normal samples (P<0.001). In addition, two subgroups (clusters 1/2) had also been identified by applying consensus clustering in the m(6)A RNA methylation regulators. As compared with the cluster 1 subgroup, the cluster 2 subgroup was correlated with a poorer prognosis, as shown by the Kaplan-Meier method (P=6.197e-4). A risk signature was constructed based on these findings using six m(6)A RNA methylation regulators, which could not only predict the clinicopathological features of HCCs, but also serve as an independent prognostic marker, as shown by Cox regression analysis (hazard ratio=1.219, 95% confidence interval: 1.143–1.299; P<0.001). Data from the International Cancer Genome Consortium were used for external validation. In addition, gene set enrichment analysis identified several pathways that m(6)A RNA methylation regulators were closely associated with. In conclusion, the m(6)A RNA methylation regulators are the crucial participants in the malignant progression of HCCs, which are potentially useful for prognosis stratification and therapeutic strategy development for HCC.