Comprehensive Analysis of Immune Related Genes in the Tumor Microenvironment of Colorectal Cancer

Objective: This study was therefore designed to conduct a robust analysis of Colorectal cancer (CRC) immune microenvironment to identify specific genes and pathways that can be targeted in an effort to achieve more effective immunotherapy outcomes. Methods: Using five Independent data sets, we analyzed expression profiles associated with 29 different immune signatures, and we used these profiles to guide the hierarchical clustering of CRC samples based on their immune micro environmental composition Results: We were able to cluster our CRC samples based on whether they had exhibited high, medium, or low levels of infiltration by immune cell types associated with tumor clearance (Immunity-H, Immunity-M, and Immunity-L, respectively). Samples in the Immunity-H subset exhibited a “hot” immune microenvironment, with higher stromal scores, higher immune scores, and lower tumor purity. The microsatellite instability (MSI) group included the majority of the Immunity-H samples, whereas most Immunity-M and Immunity-L samples were incorporated into the microsatellite stability (MSS).The vast majority of patients with KRAS mutations were in the Immunity-L and MSS groups, whereas the majority of patients exhibiting BRAF V600E mutations were found in the Immunity-H and MSI-H samples. TMB high samples included a majority of the Immunity-H samples and a small subset of the Immunity-M samples. LCK, GNGT2, CD3G, CCR4, and CCR5 were significantly enriched in pathways including T cell activation, lymphocyte differentiation, and leukocyte cell-cell adhesion when comparing Immunity-H vs. Immunity-L samples.