Integrated transcriptomic analysis identifies MZT2A as a prognostic and immune-related biomarker in KIRC

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) represents the most common solid renal malignancy, accounting for 90% of kidney cancers and 3% of all malignancies. Clear cell RCC (ccRCC) is the predominant histologic subtype, comprising roughly 80% of cases. Despite a 5-year survival rate of 75%, up to 30% of patients with localized ccRCC eventually develop recurrence or distant metastases. Mitotic spindle organizing protein 2A (MZT2A), also known as FAM128A, GCP8, or MOZART2A, is located on chromosome 2q21.1 and encodes a 158-amino acid protein first described by Hutchins et al. in 2010. To date, limited studies have linked MZT2A to tumorigenesis, primarily in lung and gastric cancers. The tumor microenvironment (TME), particularly tumor-infiltrating immune cells, plays a critical role in cancer progression and prognosis. Using paired tumor and normal samples from TCGA, we assessed MZT2A expression across multiple cancer types. Collectively, these findings suggest that MZT2A is involved in immune cell infiltration and the tumor microenvironment, may promote KIRC progression, and is overexpressed in cases with poor outcomes, supporting its potential as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker.