Notably, GSEA revealed that our combined COAD prognostic model based on six CpG sites was significantly associated with core enrichment genes of the IINIP pathway, including HLA-DQB1, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-15 and CCR9. The IINIP pathway has been reported to alter the proliferation of COAD cells, the prognosis of COAD patients, the susceptibility of individuals to COAD, the effectiveness of immunotherapy for COAD, etc. [44–47]. The gene discussed is HLA-DQB1; the disease is colon adenocarcinoma.