Prognostic value and anti-tumor immunity role of in pan-cancer: a bioinformatics study.

Background: Transmembrane p24 trafficking protein 9 () belongs to the TMED family, and its overexpression frequently induces cancer. Studies have demonstrated the association between the overexpression of and cancer development and proliferative migration in cancers such as ovarian cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and breast cancer. However, there has been no study investigating the clinical value, biological function, and anti-tumor immune effects of from a pan-cancer perspective. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prognostic value and anti-tumor immunity role of across pan-cancers.

Methods: We utilized R language along with The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), UCSC Xena (University of California, Santa Cruz Xena Browser), Human Protein Atlas (HPA), and other datasets to investigate expression in various tumors. The association between high expression and clinical prognosis and patient survival was examined using the Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, as well as univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Tumor Immune Estimation Resource 2.0 (TIMER2.0) and various algorithms were employed to explore the relationship between and the tumor microenvironment (TME). Additionally, the biological function of in cancer was investigated through Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) analyses.

Results: was over-expressed in the majority of cancers. Patients exhibiting elevated expression typically experienced diminished survival rates and unfavorable clinical outcomes. played a role as a mediator in the aggressive phenotype of numerous tumors, actively engaging in various biological and signaling pathways linked to cancer development. demonstrated the capacity to modulate the anti-tumor immune response in pan-cancer patients, exerting its influence on the infiltration levels of immune cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs).

Conclusions: serves as a novel "cancer indicator" and "clinical prognostic marker", capable of reshaping the TME, impacting the immunotherapeutic response, and guiding precise treatments for cancers to a certain extent.