IL17D expression associates with survival in triple negative breast cancer.
We mined published microarray data (1) to understand the most significant gene expression differences in the tumors of triple negative breast cancer patients based on survival following treatment: dead or alive. We observed significant transcriptome-wide differential expression of interleukin 17D, encoded by IL17D when comparing the primary tumors of triple negative breast cancer patients dead or alive. Importantly, IL17D expression was correlated with recurrence-free survival in p53 mutant patients in basal subtype breast cancer, a molecular subtype sharing significant overlap with triple negative breast cancer. IL17D may be of relevance as a biomarker or as a molecule of interest in understanding the etiology or progression of triple negative breast cancer.