Fig. 6. Enrichment plots of differential expression of hallmark pathways. Normalized gene expression was used in gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) to identify cancer hallmark pathways/gene signature altered in EGF (aq), HP-B hydrogel, and HP-B hydrogel + EGF (s) compared with the control group. Vertical black lines on the central x-axis correlate with the genes from the pathway and is correspondingly mapped to the dataset. Genes that are positively correlated with the phenotype are on the left (indicated by red), whereas genes that are negatively correlated with the phenotype are on the right (indicated by blue). The degree of positive and negative correlation to the phenotype is determined by where it ranks on the ordered gene list. The enrichment score records hits from the sample to the specific phenotype and the more the number of genes encountered in the sample, the higher the enrichment score. (A) Wnt/β-catenin signaling is upregulated in HP-B hydrogel (*p < 0.05) as well as HP-B hydrogel with EGF(s). (B) PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling is interestingly downregulated (*p < 0.05) in both HP-B hydrogel conditions. (C) TNFA signaling via NF-κB is influenced by the presence of EGF(s) stimulation and is downregulated (**p < 0.005) versus upregulated in HP-B hydrogel without supplemented EGF(s).