Pan-Cancer Analysis of BST2 Expression, Prognostic Significance, and Immune Correlations

This study aimed to investigate the expression of the bone marrow stromal cell antigen 2 (BST2) gene in malignant tumors originating from various tissues and to explore its clinical significance.

We employed the TCGA database, R software, GeneMANIA database, and biological information analysis technologies to analyze the expression of the BST2 gene across various tumor tissues at different pathological stages and to assess its association with tumor prognosis, mutations, immune invasion, immune checkpoint-related genes, and associated pathways. Validation was performed using skin cutaneous melanoma cell lines, including M14, A375, B16-F10, and A2058.

The expression of the BST2 gene varied across tumors of different origins, showing both increased and decreased levels. BST2 expression was closely associated with patient prognosis. In pan-kidney cohort, renal clear cell carcinoma, pancreatic cancer, and uterine sarcoma, its expression significantly differed across pathological stages. Additionally, in most tumors, BST2 expression correlated positively with immune infiltration and was linked to immune checkpoint-related genes. Validation of skin cutaneous melanoma cell lines displayed BST2 expression was significantly elevated in melanoma cell lines compared with the normal human melanocyte line.

This pan-cancer analysis highlights the correlation between BST2 expression and tumor type, prognosis, pathological stage, tumor mutations, and immune invasion. The findings suggest that BST2 may serve as an effective prognostic biomarker with potential applications in clinical diagnosis and treatment.