Multi-omics analysis of ILF2 reveals its prognostic value and functional roles across pan-cancer.

[BACKGROUND] The growing incidence and high mortality of malignant tumors render them a persistent challenge to global health. Interleukin enhancer-binding factor 2 (ILF2), a nuclear protein involved in gene regulation, has been found to be aberrantly expressed in various cancers; however, its pan-cancer roles remain unclear.

[METHODS] This study presents an extensive pan-cancer analysis We systematically evaluated the expression patterns, prognostic and diagnostic significance, genetic alterations, alternative splicing events, functional pathways, immune infiltration characteristics, and therapeutic responses of ILF2 across diverse cancer types.

[RESULTS] ILF2 was broadly upregulated across multiple cancers and correlated with poor prognosis, genomic alterations, and proliferation-related pathways. Its expression was also associated with immune infiltration and immune subtypes. In hepatocellular carcinoma, ILF2 mainly expresses in malignant hepatocytes at the single-cell RNA-seq level, and high ILF2 predicted therapeutic resistance and worse survival outcomes.

[CONCLUSION] ILF2 may serve as a potential biomarker for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic targeting. In particular, it holds promise as a novel therapeutic target in hepatocellular carcinoma.