As a target gene of HIF-1α, NDUFA4L2 encodes for a regulatory protein that can block the electron flow from complex I to ubiquinone and is markedly elevated in ccRCC with a prognostic effect on tumor behavior (Tello et al., 2011; Lucarelli et al., 2018). This evidence concerns the gene COXFA4L2 and nonpapillary renal cell carcinoma.