Comprehensive analysis of immune infiltration, gene correlations, and traditional Chinese medicine in lung adenocarcinoma

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a non-small cell lung cancer that remains a clinical challenge. Revealing the interaction between tumor cells and immune microenvironment, particularly in the context of Chinese traditional medicine, holds potential for developing novel personalized immunotherapies. This work investigated the immune infiltration patterns and gene correlations in over 500 LUAD samples from TCGA-LUAD dataset. The CIBERSORT and ssGSEA algorithms were performed to find out significant differences in immune cell abundance between high- and low-risk LUAD groups (model AUC 0.5–0.7). MAOB and ADRB2 genes showed positive correlations with resting mast cells, while TLC4S negatively correlated with activated CD4 memory T cells. In parallel, we found Baizhu was linked to genes enriched in calcium and estrogen signaling pathways, suggesting avenues for neurological and endocrine modulation. Ganjiang and Biba showed strong involvement in immune-related pathways, including TNF signaling, lung cancer, and apoptosis-correlating with their anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor applications. Renshen showed the broadest target profile (256 genes), notably engaging Th17 cell differentiation and cGMP-PKG signaling pathways. Although current models show moderate predictive performance and further experimental validation are warranted, our findings provide valuable insights into LUAD immune infiltration, gene correlations, and potential gene-drug interactions.