Abstract
BACKGROUND: Understanding the molecular mechanisms and identifying prognostic markers across various subtypes and stages of prostate cancer (PCa) are crucial for improving therapeutic strategies against the disease. This study focuses on discovering novel immune-related biomarkers that could aid in the evaluation and prognosis of PCa at different stages and serve as promising therapeutic targets. METHODS: Transcriptomic and clinical data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases were analyzed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) linked to PCa progression. The relationship between immune cell infiltration in the tumor microenvironment (TME) and the expression levels of baculoviral inhibitor of apoptosis protein repeat containing 5 (BIRC5) and hyaluronan-mediated motility receptor (HMMR) were examined using xCELL and quanTIseq algorithms. RESULTS: The analysis identified ten key hub genes, with survival analysis indicating that higher expressions of BIRC5 and HMMR were associated with poor outcomes and may contribute to tumor progression. Notably, the expressions of BIRC5 and HMMR showed a significant correlation with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in various PCa subgroups. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) evaluations further corroborated the bioinformatics findings. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms BIRC5 and HMMR as potential biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of PCa, providing important evidence for the development of future therapeutic strategies. Through further research, these biomarkers may be utilized in clinical practice to improve patient management and treatment outcomes.