Systematically identification of survival-associated eQTLs in a Japanese kidney cancer cohort.

Background: Clear cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC) is the predominant form of kidney cancer, but the prognostic value of expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) remains underexplored, particularly in Asian populations.

Objective: We analyzed whole-exome sequencing and RNA sequencing data from 100 Japanese ccRCC patients to identify eQTLs. Multiple Cox proportional hazard models assessed survival associations, with validation in the Cancer Genome Atlas ccRCC cohort (n = 287).

Results: We identified 805 eGenes and 4,558 cis-eQTLs in the Japanese cohort. Survival analysis revealed a total of 9 eGenes significantly associated with overall survival (FDR < 0.05). Further exploratory analysis were performed using 158 eGenes and 711 eQTLs (p-value <0.05) as potential prognostic signals. Among these, 223 eQTLs regulating 54 eGenes showed consistent prognostic effects at both expression and genetic levels. Cross-population validation identified eight eQTLs regulating 11 eGenes with reproducible survival associations across ethnicities, including a missense mutation in ERV3-1 and regulatory variants near ANKRD20A7P. These variants demonstrated consistent allelic effects on both gene expression and patient survival in both cohorts.