Differential expression of sprouty RTK signaling antagonist 2 in cancers of the breast.
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 sprouty RTK signaling antagonist 2, SPRY2, when comparing primary tumors of the breast to the tissue of origin, the normal breast. SPRY2 mRNA was present at significantly reduced quantity in tumors of the breast as compared to normal breast tissue. Analysis of human survival data revealed that expression of SPRY2 in primary tumors of the breast was correlated with overall survival in patients with basal and luminal A subtype cancers, demonstrating a relationship between correlation of primary tumor expression with overall survival based on molecular subtype. SPRY2 may be of relevance to initiation, maintenance or progression of cancers of the female breast.