Objective: To explore the expression of the
transferrin receptor (TFRC) gene in
pancreatic cancer and to analyze the pathogenesis and
immunotherapy of TFRC in patients using bioinformatics methods. Methods: We used public data from the
cancer genome atlas (TCGA) and gene expression omnibus databases to explore the expression level of the TFRC gene in
pancreatic cancer patients. At the same time, we analyzed the correlation between the TFRC gene expression and patient survival, and further analyzed the correlation between TFRC and survival time of patients with different clinicopathological characteristics. Co-expressed genes and pathway enrichment analyses were used to analyze the mechanism of the TFRC in the occurrence and development of
pancreatic cancer. Ultimately, we used the R software to examine the relationship between TFRC and immune phenotypes and immune cell infiltration using the TCGA database. Results: The results of the study showed that TFRC is highly expressed in
pancreatic cancer tissue. The upregulated expression of TFRC was negatively correlated with the survival in patients with
pancreatic cancer. The bioinformatics analysis showed that TFRC plays a role in the occurrence and development of
pancreatic cancer mainly through signaling pathways (including
cell adhesion molecule binding, condensed chromosomes, chromosome segregation, and cell cycle checkpoints). Finally, TFRC is associated with immune phenotypes and immune cell infiltration, which may influence
immunotherapy. Conclusion: TFRC is significantly increased in
pancreatic cancer and is associated with a poor prognosis. Moreover, research on TFRC may generate new ideas for the
immunotherapy of
pancreatic cancer.