Pan-cancer analysis reveals nucleolar and spindle-associated protein 1 as a predictive marker for human cancer

Understanding the driving factors and the common and unique mechanisms of human tumorigenesis is essential for the development of effective treatments. As a potential oncogene, nucleolar and spindle-associated protein 1 ( NUSAP1 ) participates in the regulation of a variety of tumor cells (e.g. hepatocellular carcinoma), lung cancer proliferation, metastasis, and drug resistance. However, a systematic pan-cancer analysis has not yet been carried out. Using The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus datasets, the Human Protein Atlas, and several bioinformatics tools, we investigated the expression and potential carcinogenic effects of NUSAP1 in 33 tumors. We found that NUSAP1 overexpression usually indicated poor overall survival in patients with tumors with high NUSAP1 expression, such as lung cancer, breast cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma. We also analyzed the NUSAP1 mutation burden in cancers and NUSAP1-related survival in patients with tumors, compared NUSAP1 phosphorylation in normal and primary tumor tissues, and explored possible functional mechanisms of NUSAP1-mediated tumorigenesis. The current pan-cancer analysis provides a relatively comprehensive overview of the carcinogenic effects of NUSAP1 in a variety of human cancers, which may stimulate new ideas for treating several tumors.