Bioinformatic identification of prognostic indicators in bladder cancer

Aim: Bladder cancer (BC) is one of the most common malignancies with poor prognosis. We aimed to identify a genetic signature for predicting the prognosis of BC. Materials & methods: Kaplan–Meier survival and Cox regression analyses were used to construct a prognostic signature using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Results: Fifty four upregulated and 47 downregulated immune-related genes (IRGs) were identified in BC. A prognostic signature based on the expression of five IRGs was determined, which was moderately accurate in the prognosis of tumors. The prognostic signature was correlated with tumor stage, tumor burden and lymph node metastasis. The expression of IRGs were associated with immune infiltration. Conclusion: We determined a five gene signature, which correlates with the prognosis of BC patients, providing additional information for effective treatment.