Molecular subtypes based on DNA sensors predict prognosis and tumor immunophenotype in hepatocellular carcinoma

DNA sensors play crucial roles in inflammation and have been indicated to be involved in antitumor or tumorigenesis, while it is still unclear whether DNA sensors have potential roles in the prognosis and immunotherapy of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Herein, The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus databases were used to analyze RNA sequencing data and clinical information. A total of 14 DNA sensors were collected and performed consensus clustering to determine their molecular mechanisms in HCC. Two distinct molecular subtypes (Clusters C1 and C2) were identified and were associated with different overall survival (OS). Immune subtype analysis revealed that C1 was mainly characterized by inflammation, while C2 was characterized by lymphocyte depletion. Immune scoring and immunomodulatory function analysis confirmed the different immune microenvironment of C1 and C2. Notably, significant differences in “Hot Tumor” Immunophenotype were observed between the two subtypes. Moreover, the prognostic model based on DNA sensors is capable of effectively predicting the OS of HCC patients. Besides, the chemotherapeutic drug analysis showed the different sensitivity of two subtypes. Taken together, our study shows that the proposed DNA sensors were a reliable signature to predict the prognosis and immunotherapy response with potential application in the clinical decision and treatment of HCC.