Pan-Cancer Multi-Omics Analysis Reveals the Potential of ZDHHC16 in Tumor Progression and Immune Regulation.

S-palmitoylation is a crucial post-translational modification that regulates diverse cellular processes, particularly signalling pathways. The ZDHHC family of enzymes catalyzes this modification, however, the role of ZDHHC16 in cancer warrants in-depth investigation. This study presents a comprehensive pan-cancer analysis of ZDHHC16, examining its expression patterns, clinical relevance, associations with immune responses, genomic characteristics, and potential as a therapeutic target. We further analysed single-cell and spatial transcriptomic data to identify specific cell populations associated with ZDHHC16 dysregulation. Our findings reveal that ZDHHC16 dysregulation is tissue-specific and promotes tumor progression and modulates immune responses, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target in several cancers, including ACC and BRCA. In ACC and BRCA, high ZDHHC16 expression correlates with shorter overall survival (p < 0.001) and regulates PD-L1 expression.