Identification of N7-methylguanosine-related patterns and characterization of the tumor microenvironment in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: N7-methylguanosine (m7G) is an essential epigenetic modification and there is increasing evidence that it is closely associated with tumorigenesis progression. However, the expression pattern of m7G-related genes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains systematically analyzed. Methods: : We downloaded HCC genetic and transcriptomic data from TCGA and GEO datasets. Unsupervised clustering methods identified different m7G-related gene subtypes, and then an m7G_score for predicting overall survival and characterizing the tumor microenvironment (TME) was constructed. Eventually, a highly accurate nomogram was constructed based on the score. Results: : In this study, two m7G-related gene subtypes were obtained by unsupervised clustering analysis of 18 m7G-related genes, and the relationship between different subtypes and clinicopathological features and TME was systematically evaluated. Conclusion: N7-methylguanosine-related patterns are closely related to the clinical characteristics and tumor microenvironment of HCC patients, providing a new perspective on the treatment of HCC patients. Meanwhile, m7G_score can improve the clinical applicability with HCC patients.