Development of a SETD2-related immune prognostic signature in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a malignant tumor of urinary system, and clear cell RCC (ccRCC) is the major pathological subtype. A high-frequency mutation in SETD2 gene is related to the occurrence, development, and poor prognosis of RCC. OBJECTIVE: The research of immune-related genes (IRGs) is important to the success of immunotherapy in RCC. The aim of this study was to develop SETD2-related immune prognostic signature (IPS) potentially useful in the prognosis prediction of ccRCC. METHODS: The expression profile, mutation profile, and clinical data related to ccRCC were obtained from the TCGA (Cancer Genome Atlas) and cBioPortal databases. The data of IRGs were downloaded from the ImmPort database. RESULTS: An IPS with 5 genes (PDIA2, PAEP, AMELX, GREM2, and INHA) was constructed by analyzing the correlation between prognosis data and IRGs associated with ccRCC patients with wild type and mutant SETD2 genes. The clinical utility of the IPS and its relationship with immune microenvironment were also studied. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results of this study, the IPS can be a promising biomarker of ccRCC to guide its prognosis and treatment.