Identification of peripheral blood mononuclear cell gene signatures for detection of hepatocellular carcinoma

Liver cancer is ranked sixth among the most frequently occurring cancers for both sexes worldwide in ۲۰۲۰and the third leading cause of cancer deaths following lung and colorectal cancers. Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) is liver cancer's most common primary malignancy and accounts for ~۹۰% of cases. Currentlyavailable diagnostic methods for HCC exhibit a relatively moderate sensitivity of ۶۰%, therefore introducinggene signatures for the disease diagnosis seems necessary. The gene expression profile of peripheral bloodmononuclear cells (PBMCs) has shown an alteration in the case of malignancies such as different types ofcancer. In this study, we aim to detect the gene signatures of PBMCs that could distinguish HCC cases fromhealthy controls by analyzing multiple datasets retrieved from GEO database. Differentially expressed genes(DEGs) were determined using Limma package in R-۴.۱.۰. A total of ۱۱ genes, including ۹ upregulated and۲ downregulated, were determined as DEGs based on the defined criteria. DAVID online tool was thenutilized for enrichment analysis of DEGs. Several signaling pathways such as Toll-like receptor, NOD-likereceptor, TNF signaling pathways, and pathways in cancer were enriched. These genes were also able toclassify HCC from healthy controls with an accuracy of ۹۳%. The results demonstrate PBMCs containpromising gene signatures that could shed light on the mechanism of the disease, leading to the introductionof a non-invasive diagnostic panel and/or therapeutic targets.