Clinical significance of <italic>BTLA</italic> gene expression and rs1982809 polymorphism in pan-cancer.

AbstractThe association between the B and T lymphocyte attenuator (<italic>BTLA</italic>) gene rs1982809 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility has been reported, but these findings are inconsistent. In addition to clarifying the relationship between the rs1982809 polymorphism and cancer susceptibility, the current study also explored the clinical significance of <italic>BTLA</italic> gene expression. The GSCA tool and Stata software were used to explore the association between <italic>BTLA</italic> gene expression and tumor stage, immune infiltration, survival prognosis, and drug sensitivity for pan-cancer, and the association of <italic>BTLA</italic> gene rs1982809 polymorphism with cancer susceptibility, respectively. <italic>BTLA</italic> gene expression was associated not only with the pathologic stages of thyroid carcinoma, skin cutaneous melanoma, and kidney renal clear cell carcinoma, but also with immune infiltration in 33 types of cancers. In addition, <italic>BTLA</italic> gene expression was linked to survival prognosis in 8 types of cancers and the sensitivity of 255 drugs such as 5-Fluorouracil, docetaxel, and methotrexate. A meta-analysis of 7 relevant studies with 4002 cancer patients and 5278 healthy controls showed that the <italic>BTLA</italic> gene rs1982809 polymorphism was unrelated to cancer susceptibility under all genetic models. However, a country-based stratification analysis suggested that the rs1982809 polymorphism could reduce cancer susceptibility in Polish and Tunisian populations. In conclusion, BTLA is expected to serve as a prognostic marker and therapeutic target for certain cancers, and the rs1982809 polymorphism is expected to serve as a cancer susceptibility marker in Polish and Tunisian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]