FREM1 serves as a novel therapeutic target in breast cancer through basement membrane-based prognostic modeling with integrated bioinformatics and experimental validation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in women worldwide, with metastatic disease posing significant therapeutic challenges. While immunotherapy has shown promise, tumor immune evasion limits its efficacy. The basement membrane (BM), a specialized extracellular matrix structure, plays a crucial yet understudied role in breast cancer progression and immune modulation. This study aims to investigate the prognostic value and therapeutic potential of BM-related genes in breast cancer.

Methods

We integrated transcriptomic data from TCGA and GEO databases to construct a BM-related gene signature. Unsupervised clustering stratified patients into molecular subtypes, while differential expression analysis identified key BM-associated genes. Fu

SUBMITTER: Li C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12770021 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature