Integrated analysis of intratumoral biomarker and tumor-associated macrophage to improve the prognosis prediction in cancer patients

The lack of effective and accurate predictive indicators remains a major bottleneck for the improvement of the prognosis of patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Hepatitis B virus X (HBx) has been widely suggested as a critical pathogenic protein for HBV-driven liver carcinogenesis, while tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) infltration is also closely related to the tumorigenesis and progression of HCC.