The combined signatures of programmed cell death and immune landscape provide a prognostic and therapeutic biomarker in the hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ranks as the fourth most common cause of mortality globally among all cancer types. Programmed cell death (PCD) is a crucial biological mechanism governing cancer progression, tumor expansion, and metastatic dissemination. Furthermore, the tumor microenvironment (TME) is critical in influencing overall survival (OS) and immune responses to immunotherapeutic interventions. From a multi-omics perspective, the combination of PCD and TME could help to predict the survival of HCC patient survival and immunotherapy response. Our study analyzed variations in the PCD- and TME-classifier used in the classification of HCC patients into two subgroups: PCD high-TME low and PCD low-TME high. In the following step, we compared the tumor somatic mutation (TMB), immunotherapy response, and functional annotation of both groups of patients. Lastly, Western Blot (WB) were conducted. The immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed on the Human Protein Atlas (HPA). In the PCD-TME classifier, 23 PCD-related genes and three immune cell types were identified. Patients' prognoses and responses to therapy could be accurately predicted using this model. The findings of this study provide a new instrument for the clinical management of HCC patients, and they contribute to the development of accurate treatment strategies for these patients.