Characterization of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and development of a CAF-based risk model for triple-negative breast cancer

Abstract

Triple-negative breast Cancer (TNBC) is a highly malignant cancer with unclear pathogenesis. Within the tumor microenvironment (TME), cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) vitally influence tumor onset and progression. Thus, this research aimed to identify distinct subgroups of CAF using single-cell and TNBC-related information from the GEO and TCGA databases, respectively. The primary aim was to establish a novel predictive model based on the CAF features and their clinical relevance. Moreover, the CAFs were analyzed for their immune characteristics, response to immunotherapy, and sensitivity to different drugs. The developed predictive model demonstrated significant effectiveness in determining the prognosis of patients with TNBC, TME, and the immune landscape of the tumor. Of note, the expression of GPR34 was significantly higher in TNBC tissues compared to that in other breast cancer (non-TNBC) tissues, indicating that GPR34 plays a crucial role in the onset and progression of TNBC. In summary, this research has yielded a novel predictive model for TNBC that holds promise for the accurate prediction of prognosis and response to immunotherapy in patients with TNBC.

Identification of cuproptosis-related miRNAs in triple-negative breast cancer and analysis of the miRNA–mRNA regulatory network

“…TNBC showed heterogeneity between and within tumors, and tumor-related fibroblasts were one of the sources of this heterogeneity [ 47 ]. Wang et al found that fibroblasts can induce the formation of lipid-related macrophages, mediate immunosuppression, and participate in promoting immune escape in TNBC [ 48 ]. Zhou et al confirmed that extracellular adenosine triphosphate treatment increased the expression of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in TNBC cells and endothelial cells by upregulating integrin β1 expression in TNBC cells.…”