Identification of four hub genes associated with adrenocortical carcinoma progression by WGCNA

Abstract

To determine the critical genes involved in ACC progression, we obtained 2,953 significantly differentially expressed genes and nine modules. Among them, the blue module demonstrated significant correlation with the "Stage" of ACC. Enrichment analysis revealed that genes in the blue module were mainly enriched in cell division, cell cycle, and DNA replication. Combined with the PPI and co-expression networks, we identified four hub genes (i.e., <i>TOP2A</i>, <i>TTK</i>, <i>CHEK1</i>, and <i>CENPA</i>) that were highly expressed in ACC and negatively correlated with OS. Thus, these identified genes may play important roles in the progression of ACC and serve as potential biomarkers for future diagnosis.