Transforming growth factor beta 2: a predictive marker for breast cancer.

Dual role of TGF-beta signaling in breast tumorigenesis as an inhibitor in early stages and promoter in advanced stages has been well established and known as TGF-beta switch. However, the biological mechanisms needs to be explored. Aim of the present study was to look for the usefulness of TGF-beta as a predictive marker for breast cancer and to offer a better predictability to identify patients likely to benefit from antiTGF-beta strategies. Circulatory as well as transcript levels of TGF-beta2 were estimated from 118 pretherapeutic breast cancer patients using ELISA and q-PCR with ddCt method. Multifactorial analysis was performed to correlate the results to clinico-pathological prognosticators and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis with a median follow-up of 49 months was also evaluated. Circulating TGF-beta2 was similar in control and breast cancer patients. TGF-beta2 was significantly upregulated in advanced tumors compared to early tumors. An inverse correlation was observed between TGF-beta2 protein and mRNA; nevertheless both exhibited significant correlations with clinico-pathological prognosticators. Higher expression of TGF-beta2 mRNA was connected to an early relapse in advanced stage than early stage patients. It is the first report to evaluate circulatory and transcript levels exhibiting TGF-beta switch and confirming the utility of TGF-beta2 as an important predictive marker for breast cancer.