Objective  To compare the expression of transmembrane protein 88 (TMEM88) in normal hepatocytes and hepatocellular carcinoma hepatocytes, to observe the relationship between TMEM88 and the prognosis of patients, and to explore the potential of TMEM88 being a biomarker in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Methods  This study used data provided by the public databases The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), STRING, cBioPortal, and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and analyzed them using the Kaplan–Meier method, UALCAN, Tumor IMmune Estimation Resource (TIMER), and gene expression profiling enrichment analysis (GEPIA).

Results  TMEM88 expression was higher in liver cancer tissues than in corresponding normal tissues. TMEM88 expression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) tissues correlates with prognosis. Low TMEM88 expression was associated with poorer overall survival, disease-specific survival, progression-free survival, and relapse-free survival in multiple cohorts of patients with HCC, particularly in late disease stages (grades 2 and 3). Furthermore, there was a positive correlation among MCPCOUNTER infiltration, XCELL infiltration and TEDER infiltration of TMEM88 in liver tumor cells.

Conclusions  These findings demonstrate that TMEM88 is a protective gene in HCC and promotes immune escape. TMEM88 may be used as a molecular marker of HCC, which can be used on clinical and predict the prognosis of the patient.

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