HDGF and neoplasm: In this dataset, all the 7-gene candidates exhibited a significant increase of mRNA expression in the metastasis group relative to localised tumours, with RUVBL1 exhibiting near statistical significance (U2AF2 P = 0.0106, RUVBL1 P = 0.051, HDGF P < 0.0001, FABP4 P = 0.0005, and STMN1 P = 0.032) (Fig. 4a–g).