Abstract 1274: Prognostic relevance of ZnF 649 in clear cell carcinoma

Abstract Clear cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common form of neoplastic disease affecting the kidneys that accounts for at least 70% of all kidney cancers. Given its resistance to medications and high mortality at later stages, there is a need to identify biomarkers that can detect ccRCC. KRAB Zinc finger proteins (KRAB-ZFPs) are the largest family of mammalian transcription regulators. They are differentially expressed in various tissues during cellular development and phenotypic differentiation. Though poorly understood, these transcription factors, are also differentially expressed in several cancers though very few have been reported to be implicated in ccRCC. Using bioinformatics techniques, we have demonstrated that ZNF649 and its paralog ZNF613 are suppressed in clear cell renal carcinomas (p<0.001) relative to normal tissues. Moreover, The ZNF649 and ZNF613 transcripts were downregulated across all histological grades and pathological stages (p<0.001). In addition, both ZNF649 and ZNF613 downregulation was associated with metastasis and unsatisfactory patient survival (p<0.001). Univariate and multivariante Cox regression analysis of age, gene expression, gender, pathological stage, histological grade, and pathological N in relationship to overall survival in ccRCC patients revealed that ZNF649 expression was predictive of overall survival. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis of the Gene Ontology Biological Processes database indicate that the top pathways enriched with genes correlated to ZNF649 expression were associated with angiogenesis, cellular motility and mitochondrial regulation (p<0.001 and FDR <0.05). Taken collectively, our observations indicate that ZNF649 is a prognostic marker and is a putative tumor suppressor gene in clear cell renal carcinoma. Citation Format: Renee Reams, Simone O. Heyliger, marilyn Saulsbury, Karam F. Soliman. Prognostic relevance of ZnF 649 in clear cell carcinoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 1274.