is a potential biomarker for bladder cancer: a Mendelian randomization study.

Patients with bladder cancer (BLCA) have a poor prognosis and little progress has been made in treatment. Therefore, the purpose of this work was to employ Mendelian randomization (MR) and transcriptome analysis to identify a novel biomarker that could be used to reliably diagnose BLCA. TCGA-BLCA and GSE121711 datasets were obtained from public databases. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) data of BLCA outcome (373,295 samples containing 9,904,926 single nucleotide polymorphisms) were obtained through the IEU OpenGWAS database. Differentially expressed genes were applied as exposure factors, and MR analysis was performed to identify genes that had a causal relationship with BLCA. Then, the patients were divided into high and low expression groups according to the expression levels of candidate genes, and genes with survival differences were identified. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression were used to investigate the prognostic value of the expression of these genes. A nomogram was constructed based on independent prognostic factors, and we analyzed the functions and pathways associated with the identified genes as well as their relationship with the immune microenvironment. was identified as a biomarker. status, age, and stage were identified as independent prognostic factors, and an excellent nomogram was established. Bioinformatic analysis suggested that might be associated with the activation of the immune response, bone development, and cancer pathways. The BLCA samples were divided into high and low groups. The stromal score and 33 immune cells were remarkably different between the two groups, with expression being negatively correlated with macrophages and mast cells, and positively correlated with eosinophils and central memory CD4+ T cells. Finally, was up-regulated in cancer samples in both TCGA-BLCA and GSE121711 datasets. This study identified as an independent prognostic factor for BLCA outcome based on MR and transcriptome analysis, which provides useful information for future research on and treatment of BLCA.