At last, the Pearson correlation analysis demonstrated a negative correlation between TSPAN1 and miR-194-5p expression in CCA clinical samples (r = − 0.4669, p = 0.0002, Fig. 5f) and the combination of high TSPAN1 level and low miR-194-5p level predicted poor prognosis in patients (p = 0.0119, Fig. 5g). The gene discussed is TSPAN1; the disease is cholangiocarcinoma.