Pan‑cancer analysis reveals IGFL2 as a potential target for cancer prognosis and immunotherapy

Sep 24, 2026

Uploaded by Eliana

Insulin-like growth factor like family member 2 (IGFL2) is investigated across pan-cancer to clarify its roles in gene expression, patient prognosis, immune relationships, and genomic alteration patterns. Public datasets including TCGA and GTEx support expression comparisons, while prognostic insights are derived using gene expression interaction resources. Immune infiltration is estimated with TIMER and CIBERSORT, and associations with immune genes and tumor mutational burden and microsatellite instability are assessed. Mutation, DNA methylation, functional enrichment, and pathway activity indicate higher IGFL2 expression correlates with worse outcomes and suggests biomarker potential for tumor immunotherapy.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Methods and Data Sources

Expression, Prognosis, and Immune Infiltration

Genomic Alterations and Functional Enrichment

Key Findings

Abbreviations

Expanded Gene/Phenotype Index (e.g., OV, PAAD, READ)

Gene/Term Definitions (e.g., TME, TMB, MSI, GSEA)

Scope of Cancer and Immunotherapy Rationale

[www. nature.com/scientificreports](www. nature.com/scientificreports) OPEN Pan‑cancer analysis reveals IGFL2 as a potential target for cancer prognosis and immunotherapy Yuqi Wang1, Hongwei Yuan2, Genquan Yue3, Lingyan Zhao1,4, Yuan Xia1,4, Nan Zhang1,4, Hailing Li1,4, Dongyang Liu1, Yubo Su1, Haisheng Wang5* & Yumin Gao1,4* Insulin-like growth factor like family member 2 (IGFL2) is a gene in the IGFL family, located on chromosome 19, whose role in cancer is unclear, and the aim of this study was to investigate the relevance ofIGFL2 expression, prognosis, immunity, and mutation in pan‑cancer. Obtaining information from The Cancer Genome Atlas and The Genotype‑Tissue Expression Project (GTEx) databases for expression analysis and combining with The Gene Expression Profile Interaction Analysis database for prognostic aspects. Analysis of immune cell infiltration by TIMER and CIBERSORT algorithms. Calculation of correlation of immune‑related genes with IGFL2 expression and tumor mutational burden and microsatellite instability. Mutations and DNA methylation were analyzed using the cBioPortal database and the UALCAN database, and functional enrichment was performed using Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). IGFL2 expression is significantly elevated in tumor tissue and high expression has a worse prognosis in most cancers. In immune correlation analysis, it was associated with most immune cells and immune‑related genes. In most cancers, IGFL2 methylation is lower and the group with mutations in IGFL2 has a worse prognosis than the normal group. The GSEA analysis showed that IGFL2 was significantly enriched in signaling and metabolism. IGFL2 may be involved in the development of many types of cancer, influencing the course of cancer with different biological functions. It may also be a biomarker for tumor immunotherapy. Abbreviations ACC Adrenocortical carcinoma BLCA Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma BRCA Breast invasive carcinoma CESC Cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma CHOL Cholangiocarcinoma COAD Colon adenocarcinoma DLBC Lymphoid Neoplasm Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma ESCA Esophageal carcinoma GBM Glioblastoma multiforme HNSC Head and Neck squamous cell carcinoma KICH Kidney Chromophobe KIRC Kidney renal clear cell carcinoma KIRP Kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma LAML Acute Myeloid Leukemia LGG Brain Lower Grade Glioma LIHC Liver hepatocellular carcinoma LUAD Lung adenocarcinoma LUSC Lung squamous cell carcinoma MESO Mesothelioma 1School of Public Health, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China. 2Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medicine, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China. 3Department of Urology, Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China. 4Key Laboratory of Molecular Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China. 5Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China.* email: [yxywhs001@126.com](yxywhs001@126.com); [gaoyumin0712@163.com](gaoyumin0712@163.com) [www. nature.com/scientificreports/](www. nature.com/scientificreports/) OV Ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma PAAD Pancreatic adenocarcinoma PCPG Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma PRAD Prostate adenocarcinoma READ Rectum adenocarcinoma SARC Sarcoma STAD Stomach adenocarcinoma SKCM Skin Cutaneous Melanoma TGCT Testicular Germ Cell Tumors THCA Thyroid carcinoma THYM Thymoma UCEC Uterine Corpus Endometrial Carcinoma UCS Uterine Carcinosarcoma UVM Uveal Melanoma TME The tumor microenvironment TMB Tumor mutational burden MSI Microsatellite instability GSEA Gene set enrichment analysis HR Hazard ratio CI Confidence interval OS Overall survival DFS Disease-free survival DSS Disease special survival PFS Progression-free survival TIIC Tumor infiltrating immune cell CAMs Cell adhesion molecules Cancer remains a diseas

FAQs

What question does the study investigate about IGFL2?

The study evaluates whether IGFL2 expression is linked to cancer prognosis, immune characteristics, and genomic changes across multiple cancer types.

Which datasets and computational tools are used for analysis?

Expression analysis uses TCGA and GTEx; prognostic aspects involve gene-expression interaction resources. Immune infiltration is estimated with TIMER and CIBERSORT, and mutation/methylation and pathway enrichment use cBioPortal/UALCAN and GSEA.

What do the results suggest about IGFL2 in cancer?

IGFL2 expression is elevated in tumor tissue, and higher expression generally corresponds to worse prognosis. IGFL2 also shows associations with immune components and immune-related genes, and its methylation and mutation status relate to clinical outcomes.

Sep 24, 2026

Uploaded by Eliana