FAM72 family proteins as poor prognostic markers in clear cell renal carcinoma

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of the Family with Sequence Similarity 72 member (FAM72) gene family in clear cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC) using a bioinformatic approach. PATIENTS AND METHODS: To investigate the association between FAM72 and ccRCC, we utilized various databases and analysis tools, including TCGA, GEPIA, Metscape, cBioPortal, and MethSurv. We conducted an analysis of FAM72 expression levels in ccRCC tissues compared to normal kidney tissues and performed univariate and multivariate Cox analysis to determine the relationship between FAM72 expression and patient prognosis. Furthermore, we carried out Gene Ontology (GO) and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) to identify enriched biological processes associated with FAM72 expression. Additionally, we analyzed immune cell infiltration and the level of methylation in ccRCC patients. Our bioinformatic analysis revealed that FAM72 expression levels were significantly higher in ccRCC tissues than in normal kidney tissues. High expression of FAM72 was associated with poor prognosis in ccRCC patients and was found to be an independent prognostic factor for ccRCC. GO and GSEA analyses indicated that FAM72 was enriched in biological processes related to mitosis, cell cycle, and DNA metabolism. Moreover, we found a significant correlation between FAM72 and immune cell infiltration and the level of methylation in ccRCC patients. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that FAM72 could serve as an unfavorable prognostic molecular marker for ccRCC. A comprehensive understanding of FAM72 could provide crucial insights into tumor progression and prognosis.