For the DEGs in ADC, IPA identified 194 activated or inhibited upstream regulators, among which there are regulators such as FGF2, IL1B, SP1, HDAC1, VEGF, CG, and CTNNB1. FGF2, with the highest z-score in ADC encodes the fibroblast growth factor 2, which is associated with multiple cancer pathogenesis process including cell proliferation, differentiation and metastasis [40]. Here, CTSG is linked to cancer.