While a few commonly upregulated genes, including CD70 and GTSF1, were observed across patients in line with previous reports [74,76], differentially expressed genes including CXCR4, CD69, HSPA1A, ZFP36, IL7R (CD127), and TXNIP, were specifically downregulated in the plaque/tumor-stage compared to early patch-stage lesions, findings which implied possible mechanisms of disease progression with potential prognostic value. Here, IL7R is linked to neoplasm.