| Abstract: | Cervical cancer (CESC) is one of the most common cancers and affects the female genital tract. Consistent HPV
infection status has been determined to be a vital cause of tumorigenesis. HPV infection may induce changes to the
immune system and limit the host’s immune response. Immunotherapy is therefore essential to improving the overall
survival of both locally advanced and recurrent CESC patients. Using 304 relevant samples from TCGA, we assessed
immune cell function in CESC patients to better understand the status of both tumor micro-environment cells and
immune cells in CESC. Functional enrichment analysis, pathway enrichment analysis, and PPI network construction
were performed to explore the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The analysis identified 425 DEGs, which
included 295 up-regulated genes and 130 down-regulated genes. We established that upregulation of CCL5 was
correlated with significantly better survival, meaning that CCL5 expression could serve as a novel prognostic
biomarker for CESC patients. We further focused on CCL5 as a hub gene in CESC, as it had significant correlations
with increased numbers of several types of immune cells. Cell-type fractions of M1 macrophages were significantly
higher in the high-immune-scores group, which was associated with better overall survival. Finally, we concluded that
CCL5 is a promising prognostic biomarker for CESC, as well as a novel chemotherapeutic target. |
