Identification of novel prognostic biomarkers in renal cell carcinoma.

Objective To identify novel prognostic biomarkers in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Results 12 coding genes and one miRNA were finally identified as prognostic biomarkers. All of them were related to a poor prognosis. Lower expression levels of the coding genes were observed in higher clinical stages. Prognostic signatures including 7 biomarkers were identified. Patients in the high-risk group had worse survival than those in the low-risk group. The areas under the curves in different years indicated that it was a valuable signature in prognosis. It was found that elevated WDR72 inhibited the survival and invasion of 786-O and 769P cells in vitro. Conclusions Thirteen prognostic biomarkers of RCC were identified. Among them, 7 biomarkers comprised a signature to evaluate the RCC prognosis. WDR72 was a cancer suppressor and a potential therapeutic target in RCC. Methods Differentially expressed genes/miRNAs (DEGs/DEMs) and prognosis-related genes/miRNAs were acquired from public database. Prognostic biomarkers were identified by overlapping the significant DEGs/DEMs and prognosis-related genes/miRNAs. The associations between these biomarkers and the clinical stages were analyzed. All of these prognostic biomarkers were further investigated with multi-variable Cox regression. Finally, the inhibitory effect of WDR72 on the growth and invasion of RCC cells was studied.