According to a new study conducted at the Karolinska Institutet, the activity of four specific genes in cancer cells can be used to predict the risk of the tumor spreading and the chances of survival in patients with kidney cancer. If the tumor is confined to the kidneys, the prognosis is often favorable, but if it spreads to the skeleton, which occurs in about a third of patients, the five-year survival rate is only about 10%.

In the study, the researchers examined samples from nine patients with clear-cell kidney cancer. The analysis revealed that a genetic signature generated using computer simulation consisted of four specific genes that can be used to predict whether the tumor will spread to the skeleton.

They found that the simultaneous overexpression of the four signature genes, namely SAA1, SAA2, APOL1, and ME increased the risk of tumor metastasis and a poorer survival outcome. The researchers also found that the microenvironment of the tumor inhibited the immune system.

(Source: https://theprint.in/health/gene-signature-points-to-prognosis-in-kidney-cancer-study/1172428/ )