{
  "abstract": "Objective\n\nEpithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and hypoxia are key factors in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) metastasis and recurrence. This study explored their combined impact on HCC prognosis and immunotherapy benefit.Methods\n\nTCGA, ICGC, and GEO (GSE14520) datasets were analyzed. An EMT-hypoxia prognostic model (EHPM) was built using LASSO, trained on TCGA (n = 365) and validated in ICGC (n = 231) and GSE14520 (n = 221). ROC curves assessed accuracy. ssGSEA and TIDE explored EHPM-tumor immune microenvironment relationships and predicted immunotherapy benefit. Nine EMT/hypoxia-related genes were validated by qRT-PCR in eight paired HCC and adjacent normal liver tissues.Results\n\nThe 9-gene EHPM was stable across cohorts. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year AUCs were 0.82, 0.72, and 0.76 in TCGA; 0.717, 0.701, and 0.651 in ICGC; and 0.681, 0.609, and 0.557 in GEO. High-EHPM patients showed advanced TNM stage (p = 0.003), poorer differentiation (p = 0.003), higher vascular invasion (p = 0.002), elevated AFP (p < 0.001), shorter overall survival (TCGA and ICGC: p < 0.0001; GEO: p = 0.013), and immunosuppression. EHPM was an independent prognostic factor (HR = 3.315, 95% CI 2.501-4.215, p < 0.001). TIDE indicated more immune non-responders in the high-EHPM group (p < 7.9e-07), As this is based on computational inference rather than treated patients, it should be regarded as hypothesis-generating. The nomogram predicted OS with AUCs of 0.825, 0.734, and 0.777 at 1, 2, and 3 years. qRT-PCR confirmed upregulation of all nine genes in HCC tissues.Conclusion\n\nThis EMT-hypoxia model effectively predicts OS and may help identify HCC patients likely to benefit from immunotherapy, though this requires validation in ICI-treated cohorts.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Emergency, Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated with Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, People's Republic of China.",
    "Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, People's Republic of China.",
    "Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Treatment in General Surgical (Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic) Diseases of Health Commission of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, People's Republic of China.",
    "Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, People's Republic of China."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Wenhao Hu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Dute Gao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Guojun Hou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Chang Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Xianglong Meng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Qinlong Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jiaan Sun"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2abvh8j632578.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.2147/jhc.s642054",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13693524",
  "id": "2abvh8j632578",
  "issns": [
    "2253-5969"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42921206",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2721|Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and Prognosis"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7222864631",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13693524?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13693524",
  "pmid": "42921206",
  "published": "2026-10-19",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2abvh8j632578.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:33Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42921206",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42921206"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2721|Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and Prognosis",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A Hypoxia and EMT-Related Gene Signature for Predicting Prognosis and Immunotherapy Benefit in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.",
  "title_text": "A Hypoxia and EMT-Related Gene Signature for Predicting Prognosis and Immunotherapy Benefit in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:33Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2abvh8j632578",
  "venue": "Journal of hepatocellular carcinoma",
  "versions": []
}