New insights into COL26A1 in thyroid carcinoma: prognostic prediction, functional characterization, immunological drug target and ceRNA network

Abstract Background: Thyroid carcinoma (THCA) is one of the most commonly diagnosed malignancies. Collagen is the main component in extracellular matrix. Rising studies have determined the oncogenic effect of collagen in cancer progression, which is intriguing to be further explored. Collagen type XXVI alpha 1 chain (COL26A1) is a newly discovered collagen subtype, functions of which still remain poorly demonstrated in THCA. Methods: Based on the transcriptome data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and other public databases, we conducted