Investigating the Immunogenic Cell Death‑Dependent Subtypes and Prognostic Signature of Triple‑Negative Breast Cancer

Recently,immunotherapy has emerged as a promising and efective method for treating triple-negative breast cancer(TNBC).However,challenges still persist.Immunogenic cell death(ICD)is considered a prospective treatment and potential combinational treatment strategy as it induces an anti-tumor immune response by presenting the antigenic epitopes of dead cells.Nevertheless,the ICD process in TNBC and its impact on disease progression and the response to immunotherapy are not well understood.In this study,we observed dysregulation of the ICD process and verifed the altered expression of prognostic ICD genes in TNBC through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(qRT-PCR)analysis.To investigate the potential role of the ICD process in TNBC progression,we determined the ICD-dependent subtypes,and two were identifed.Analysis of their distinct tumor immune microenvironment(TIME)and cancer hallmark features revealed that Cluster 1 and 2 corresponded to the immune“cold”and“hot”phenotypes,respectively.In addition,we constructed the prognostic signature ICD score of TNBC patients and demonstrated its clinical independence and generalizability.The ICD score could also serve as a potential biomarker for immune checkpoint blockade and may aid in the identifcation of targeted efective agents for individualized clinical strategies.