Case with triple-negative breast cancer shows overexpression of both cFOS and TGF-beta 1 in node-positive tissue

Abstract

We present herein a case report style article on a rare advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patient with 6-month disease-free interval, and 10-month overall survival. Our results demonstrate that the poor clinical outcome of this patient was associated with pronounced, more than fivefold higher, overexpression of both cFOS and TGF-beta 1 proteins in its metastatic nodal tissue extracts, when compared with the values of the two non-TNBC controls (with zero disease-free interval and overall survival). This original observation suggests, for the first time, that both the cFOS and TGF-beta 1 may be considered as a pair of biomarkers for an early assessment of poor prognosis for TNBC patients. The possible clinical implication of this observation is discussed.