POLA1 and cancer: A total of five prognosis-associated metabolic genes were included in the LASSO Cox regression model, including POLA1, UCK2, ACYP1, ENTPD2 and TXNRD1. Furthermore, functions and pathways related to these genes echoed the results of GSEA: Nucleotide metabolism and POLA1, UCK2, ENTPD2 and TXNRD1: Unrestricted cell proliferation is a characteristic typical of cancer.