Abstract
Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common tumors for women worldwide. Thrombospondins (THBSs) are reported to play important roles in various cellular processes and are involved in the occurrence and development of human cancers. However, the expression and prognostic value of THBSs family in breast cancer remain unclear.Methods: In this study, we examined the genes and protein expression levels of THBSs and their prognostic value by synthesizing several mainstream databases, including Oncomine, Human Protein Atlas (HPA), UALCAN, and KM Plotter. We also analyzed THBS interaction networks, genetic alterations, functional enrichment, and drug sensitivity with several publicly accessible databases, including GEPIA, GeneMANIA, STRING, cBioPortal, Metascape and NCI-60 database.Results: The results showed that the mRNA expression levels of THBS1, THBS2, THBS3, and THBS5 in breast cancer tissues were significantly higher than in normal tissues. The mRNA expression levels of THBS4 were different in different subtypes of breast cancer, and the protein expression levels of THBS1, THBS2, and THBS4 in breast cancer tissues were higher than in normal breast tissues. Survival analysis showed that breast cancer patients with high THBS1 gene expression showed worse overall survival (OS), relapse-free survival (RFS), and post-progression survival (PPS), and breast cancer patients with high THBS2 gene expression also showed worse RFS. Conversely, lower THBS3 levels predicted worse RFS, and lower THBS4 levels predicted worse OS, RFS, and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). Conclusions: These results suggest that THBSs may be potential biomarkers for breast cancer.
Predictive and prognostic value of ZEB1 protein expression in breast cancer patients with neoadjuvant chemotherapy