Breast cancer affects women at relatively high frequency (1). We mined published microarray datasets (2, 3) to determine in an unbiased fashion and at the systems level genes most differentially expressed in the primary tumors of patients with breast cancer. We report here significant differential expression of the gene encoding transforming growth factor beta receptor 2, TGFBR2, when comparing primary tumors of the breast to the tissue of origin, the normal breast. TGFBR2 mRNA was present at significantly lower quantities in tumors of the breast as compared to normal breast tissue. Analysis of human survival data revealed that expression of TGFBR2 in primary tumors of the breast was correlated with recurrence-free survival in patients with HER2+ subtype cancers, demonstrating a relationship between primary tumor expression of a differentially expressed gene and patient survival outcomes influenced by molecular subtype. TGFBR2 may be of relevance to initiation, maintenance or progression of cancers of the female breast.
Differential expression of transforming growth factor-beta in benign vs. papillary thyroid cancer nodules; a potential diagnostic tool?
