Comprehensive analysis of TAMs marker genes in glioma for predicting prognosis and immunotherapy response

Abstract

Glioma is one of the most frequent types of primary tumors in central nervous system. Previous studies deomostrated that tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and their marker genes were significantly associated with immunologic suppression and immune escape of cancer. However, the molecular mechanism between glioma and TAM marker genes is still rarely reported. In this research, we performed a comprehensive analysis of the prognostic prediction value of TAM marker genes in multiple glioma cohorts. Further investigation indicated that the increased expression of TAM marker genes resulted in the immune suppressive microenvironment in glioma through regulating tumor-infiltrating immune cells and Cancer-Immunity Cycle. To better forecast the survival of glioma patients, we then developed gene risk models in four glioma datasets (CGGA, TCGA, Rembrandt and Gravendeel). Univariate and multivariate Cox analysis exhibited the good survival prediction ability and prognostic discrimination ability of our models. The results of immunotherapy prediction indicated that glioma patients with low risk were more likely to benefit from ICB (immune checkpoint blockade) treatment. Altogether, our research provided a comprehensive analysis of TAM marker genes and explored their value for predicting prognosis and immunotherapy response in glioma.

Keywords: Enrichment analysis; Glioma; Immunotherapy response; Prognosis; Tumor microenvironment; Tumor-associated macrophages.