Prognostic and immunological role of Asporin across cancers and exploration in bladder cancer

•ASPN significantly associates with the progression and prognosis of multiple cancers.•ASPN is strongly related to tumor immunity across cancers.•ASPN is a potential therapeutic target for cancer.•ASPN regulates malignant biological functions in bladder cancer. Asporin (ASPN) has been identified as a player in tumorigenesis, but its precise roles and modulatory function are largely unknown. Methods: In the present study, ASPN expression was first explored, followed by a prognostic evaluation of ASPN and a comprehensive investigation of the connections between ASPN and immunomodulation, immune cell infiltration and potential compounds on a pancancer level. Finally, ASPN expression was validated in bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA) tissues, and the potential function of ASPN, including its effects on migration and invasion capabilities, was investigated in tumor cells. Results: The expression of ASPN exhibited significant variation across cancers and was found to be associated with patient prognosis. In addition, the expression level of APSN was markedly correlated with the abundances of infiltrating immune cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts and the expression levels of immunomodulatory genes based on the results of pancancer analysis. Metastasis and immune-associated signaling pathways were identified in enrichment analysis based on ASPN expression. Finally, we confirmed that ASPN expression increased with the degree of malignancy in BLCA tissues and cell lines and that low expression of ASPN hindered the migration and invasion of cells. Conclusions: ASPN has the potential to be a biomarker of cancer prognosis and a therapeutic target, and it also has predictive capability for the progression of BLCA.