Among the top 8 frequently mutated genes (VHL, PBRM1, BAP1, SETD2, KDM5C, PTEN, MTOR, TP53) in ccRCC in the COSMIC database, which also represent the eight most significantly mutated genes in the TCGA database, six were verified in our study, including VHL (67%), PBRM1 (7%), BAP1 (13%), SETD2 (13%), PTEN (7%) and MTOR (7%) (Fig. 6). Here, VHL is linked to nonpapillary renal cell carcinoma.