When KEGG pathway analysis was similarly performed on the 8 differentially expressed microRNAs between the patients with sporadic PMAH and normal controls, the renal cell carcinoma, dilated cardiomyopathy, axon guidance, ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, endocytosis and MAPK signalling pathways were ranked as the most affected pathways on the basis of the predicted targets, while the renal cell carcinoma pathway contained 5 genes (CDC42, CUL2, EP300, GRB2 and SLC2A1) that were predicted to be potential downstream targets of the differentially expressed microRNAs (Fig. 5B). This evidence concerns the gene CUL2 and hereditary clear cell renal cell carcinoma.