Identification of PANoptosis-Related Biomarkers in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The early detection and diagnosis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) pose significant challenges. OBJECTIVES: This study explores the diagnostic and prognostic role of PANoptosis-related genes (PANRGs) in HNSCC. METHODS: In this study, machine learning was used to identify PANoptosis-related biomarkers in HNSCC, and a corresponding prognostic risk model was constructed. RESULTS: This study identified ZBP1, RIPK1, FADD, and RNF31 as biomarkers for HNSCC, among which ZBP1, RIPK1, and RNF31 served as protective factors, while FADD functioned as a risk factor. Based on the median Risk Score of the biomarkers, the validation set was categorized into high-risk and low-risk groups. NOBOX, SOX14, GBX1, and NKX2-4 were identified as hub genes playing critical roles in distinguishing the high-risk and low-risk groups, and these hub genes were significantly negatively enriched in the PPAR signaling pathway. Furthermore, immune infiltration analysis revealed that the abundance of immune cells in the low-risk group was significantly higher than that in the high-risk group. CONCLUSION: This study identified four PANoptosis-related biomarkers in HNSCC, with ZBP1, RIPK1, and RNF31 as protective factors and FADD as a risk factor. These findings provide new references for improving the prognosis of HNSCC patients and developing novel therapeutic strategies.