Systematic pan-cancer analysis of the prognostic value of MECOM in human cancer

Sep 21, 2026

Recently, emerging evidence suggests an association between MECOM (MDS1 and EVI1 complex locus) and cancers. However, a comprehensive pan-cancer analysis to fully investigate this relationship is lacking. Public large-scale genomics resources, including The Cancer Genome Atlas, Gene Expression Omnibus, and the Human Protein Atlas, were used to evaluate MECOM’s prognostic and immunological roles across cancer types. Results showed MECOM differential expression, links to overall and disease-free survival, associations with mutation burden, and mechanistic insights via immune infiltration analyses.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

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Introduction

Materials and methods

Gene expression analysis

Clinical specimens

Research Systematic pan‑cancer analysis of the prognostic value of MECOMin human cancer Yingqiang Lu1 · Jing Quan1 · Feng Liu1 · Banggao Huang1 Received: 7 September 2024 / Accepted: 18 November 2024 © The Author(s) 2024 OPEN Abstract Recently, emerging evidence suggests an association between MECOM (MDS1 and EVI1 complex locus) and cancers. However, a comprehensive pan-cancer analysis to fully investigate this relationship is lacking. Herein, public platforms with large-scale genomics, including The Cancer Genome Atlas, Gene Expression Omnibus dataset, and the Human Protein Atlas were explored to investigate the prognostic and immunological roles of MECOM across certain cancer types. Our findings revealed differential expression of MECOM in various cancer types, indicating its potential to predict diverse clinical outcomes, such as overall survival time and disease-free survival time in patients with various malignancies. Additionally, we observed an association between the mutation burden in MECOM in various cancers and patient survival. Furthermore, the mechanism of MECOM-mediated oncogenesis was tentatively explored by immune infiltration analysis. This study provided a relatively comprehensive overview of the prognostic and immunological roles of MECOMin multiple cancers. Keywords MECOM · Cancer · Prognosis · Survival · Comprehensive analysis 1 Introduction It is widely acknowledged that there is considerable heterogeneity in the tumorigenesis and development of diverse cancers [1, 2]. Understanding the role of a single gene in the complex processes through pan-cancer analysis is becoming increasingly feasible with the emergence of public platforms featuring large-scale genomics databases, such asThe Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) [3, 4] . MECOM (MDS1 and EVI1 complex locus) gene, also known as PRDM3 (positive regulatory domain zinc finger protein 3), was originally identified as a retroviral integration site in myeloid neoplasms and is believed to possess a relatively conserved developmental function in embryogenesis [5]. In tumors, MECOM is thought to be associated with the maintenance of acinar cell homeostasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma by regulating the response of acinar cells to inflammation and oncogenic KRAS activation [6]. Moreover, MECOM expression has been found to be amplified in ovarian cancers, sustaining tumor growth by interacting with PAX8 [7] . In nasopharyngeal carcinoma, MECOM was observed Yingqiang Lu and Jing Quan have contributed equally to this study. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at [https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-024-](https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-024-)[ ](https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-024-)[01599-5](01599-5.)[.](01599-5.) * Banggao Huang, [sunson33@126.com |](sunson33@126.com |1Department of Urology)[1](sunson33@126.com |1Department of Urology)[Department of Urology](sunson33@126.com |1Department of Urology), Urology and Nephrology Center, Cancer Center, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital, Affiliated People’s Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, 158 Shangtang Road, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China. Discover Oncology (2024) 15:694 | [https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-024-01599-5](https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-024-01599-5) to contribute to an epithelial-mesenchymal transition phenotype in tumor cells, thereby enhancing their proliferation and invasive capabilities [8] . Although recent studies on the role of MECOM in several cancers indicated its potential significance in cancer tumorigenesis and development [6–8], pan-cancer evidence regarding its contribution to various cancer types is currently lacking. We integrated the data available in TCGA and GEO databases to ascertain the expression profile of MECOM across various cancer types, with the objective of conducting a pan-cancer analysis of this gene. Other factors like survival status, immune infiltration,

FAQs

What was the study’s main goal regarding MECOM in cancer?

To perform a pan-cancer analysis of MECOM, evaluating its prognostic and immunological roles across multiple cancer types.

Which public genomics platforms were used in the analysis?

The study explored large-scale datasets including The Cancer Genome Atlas, Gene Expression Omnibus, and the Human Protein Atlas.

What prognostic associations did the findings indicate?

Differential MECOM expression was observed across cancer types, and MECOM was linked to patient outcomes such as overall survival and disease-free survival.

Sep 21, 2026

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