Identifying a Three-Gene Signature and Associated Drugs for Hepatitis B Virus-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma Using Comprehensive Bioinformatics Analysis

Abstract

Liver cancer is one of the most common cancer forms and a significant contributor to global cancer-associated mortality. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection contributes enormously to HCC development and progression. Despite this, the molecular basis of liver tumorigenesis is not clear. This work focused on identifying the relevant genetic markers and available drugs for treating HBV-related HCC. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from HBV-related HCC samples and corresponding healthy samples were identified from GSE62232 and GSE121248 datasets from the GEO2R repository (Gene Expression Omnibus). The Venn diagram software screened the overlapping DEGs between these two datasets. The DEGs were functionally assessed using protein-protein interaction (PPI), Gene Ontology (GO), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses by different bioinformatic methods, and hub genes were screened. Hub genes and related drugs were verified by the GEPIA2 (Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis) web server and the Quartata Web online platform. Overall, 116 DEGs (88 up-regulated and 28 down-regulated) related to signal transduction and metabolic pathways were identified. The nine significant target hub genes were TOP2A, RRM2, DTL, ECT2, ASPM, ANLN, BUB1B, CCNB1, and CDK1. Moreover, one screened drug, Fostamatinib, was targeted to CDK1. Our study identified three genes and associated drugs as probable targets for studying HBV-related HCC.