Development of a Bile Acid-Related Gene Signature for Predicting Survival in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common diseases, threatening millions of patients annually. Increasing evidence supports that bile acid (BA) has an impact on HCC through inflammation, DNA damage or other mechanisms. Methods: With the data from The Cancer Genome Atlas portal, a total of 127 BA-associated genes were analyzed in HCC tumor and non-tumor samples, and then, using univariate and multivariate Cox regression, genes with correlations to the prognosis of HCC patients were identified. Then, a prediction model with identified genes was constructed for evaluating the risk of HCC patients for prognosis. Results: Twenty-six genes with differential expression between HCC and control tissue samples were identified, of which 19 genes had up-regulated expression and 7 genes had down-regulated expression in tumor samples. Three genes, NPC1, ABCC1 and SLC51B, were extrapolated to construct a prediction model for prognosis of HCC patients. Conclusion: The three-gene prediction model was more reliable than the pathological staging characters of the tumor for the prognosis and survival of HCC patients. Additionally, the up-regulated genes facilitating the transport of BAs are associated with poor prognosis of HCC patients and genes of de novo synthesis of BAs benefits HCC patients.