Prognostic Significance of Gene Variants and Expression in Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is characterized by high mortality and morbidity rates. Vav guanine nucleotide exchange factors (VAVs), crucial for signal transduction between cell membrane receptors and intracellular mediators, have been implicated in carcinogenesis. However, their potential prognostic value in RCC remains unclear. The impact of 150 common polymorphisms on RCC risk and survival was investigated in a cohort of 630 individuals. Publicly available gene expression datasets were utilized to analyze gene expression in relation to patient outcomes. The rs17019888 polymorphism was significantly associated with RCC risk and overall survival after adjusting for false discovery rates. Expression quantitative trait loci analysis revealed that the risk allele of rs17019888 is linked to reduced expression. Analysis of 19 kidney cancer gene expression datasets revealed lower expression in RCC tissues compared to normal tissues, with higher expression correlating with better prognosis. Gene set enrichment analysis demonstrated that negatively regulates the ubiquitin-proteasome system, extracellular matrix and membrane receptors, inflammatory responses, matrix metalloproteinases, and cell cycle pathways. Furthermore, elevated expression was associated with increased infiltration of B cells, macrophages, and neutrophils into the RCC tumor microenvironment. Our findings suggest that gene variants influence RCC risk and survival, contributing to a favorable prognosis in RCC.