In clinical analyses using the same TCGA-KIRC dataset, Kaplan–Meier curves revealed that patients with RCC with ADAMTS1high/VCANhigh tumors had significantly shorter survival times compared with patients with ADAMTS1low/VCANlow tumors (Fig. 4K), suggesting the pivotal role of the ADAMTS1–VCAN–EGFR axis in RCC progression. Here, EGFR is linked to renal cell carcinoma.