The Effect of Ferroptosis-Related Genes on Prognosis and Tumor Mutational Burden in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

In this study, we constructed the ferroptosis-related genes diagnostic and prognostic models. We analyzed the relationship between ferroptosis and tumor mutational burden in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Eighty-four ferroptosis-related genes were analyzed by Cox regression and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method. Seven genes (SLC7A11, ACSL3, ACACA, SLC1A5, G6PD, ACSL6, and VDAC2) were used to construct models. The reliability of the model was verified by using the data from the ICGC database. Differential genes in high and low-risk groups revealed enrichment of many immune features by Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. The degree of ferroptosis was negatively correlated with tumor mutational burden (i.e., the higher the degree of ferroptosis, the lower the tumor mutational burden). The tumor mutational burden was negatively correlated with survival. We also found that ALB, TP53, and DOCK2 may be a bridge between ferroptosis and tumor mutational burden. The reported models and the relationship with tumor mutational burden indicate new possibilities for individualized treatment of HCC patients.