Bioinformatics analysis of immune‐programmed cell death‐related genes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Abstract Background Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a prevalent malignant tumor of the head and neck, characterized by a complex pathogenesis. Most newly diagnosed NPC patients are locally advanced, and 20%–30% of advanced NPC patients have poor immunotherapy results. Purpose This study aimed to identify key genes associated with immunity and programmed cell death (PCD) in NPC, thereby providing new targets and strategies for precision treatment. Results In this study, functional annotation and pathway enrichment analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of GSE12452 and GSE61218 was performed using Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Moreover, the search tool for the retrieval of interaction gene/proteins database was constructed to establish a protein‐protein interaction (PPI) network to screen key genes. From GSE12452 and GSE61218, 700 and 619 DEGs were obtained, respectively, and 346 common differential expressed genes (co‐DEGs) were screened. Furthermore, 24 immune‐related common differential expressed genes (IDEGs) were screened by the interaction of co‐DEGs with immune‐related DEGs. The major GO functions enriched for IDEGs were chemokine activity and receptor binding, and KEGG pathways were enriched for cytokine‐cytokine receptor interactions, IL‐17 signaling pathway, chemokine signaling pathway, and so on. PPI analysis identified seven hub genes, including interferon‐gamma ( IFNG ), CXCL11 , CCL8 , IL33 , Prostaglandin‐endoperoxide synthase 2 ( PTGS2 ), CXCL3 , and CXCL14 . Remarkably, IFNG and PTGS2 may be the key targets for PCD regulation of NPC immunity. Conclusion Our results suggest that IFNG and PTGS2 are expected to be new markers and targets for the diagnosis and treatment of NPC, which opens a new way to further improve the prognosis of NPC patients.