Results: our extensive analysis revealed: 1) the number of prognostic and diagnostic genes differs greatly across the cancers, 2) the potentially implicated 22 genes harbor the diagnostic as well as prognostic capacity, 3) the universal prognostic genes (CDC20, CDCA8, ASPM, ERCC6L, and GTSE1) were found to be involved in the spindle assembly checkpoint, 4) the prognostic genes were found to be statistically linked to the frequently mutated TP53-, MAPK-, PI3K- and AKT- related pathways. Here, CDCA8 is linked to cancer.