Nail BESLI, Nilufer ERCIN, Bahar Sarikamis JOHNSON, Ulkan CELIK
Interdisciplinary Medical Journal - 2026;17(58):115-128
Objective : Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are critical components of the tumor microenvironment that greatly influence breast cancer progression. In this study, we used in silico analysis to determine the potential pathways and genes that could affect breast cancer progression associated with CAFs. Method : Data from breast cancer patients, collected through microarray and next-generation sequencing (NGS), were retrieved using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) platform. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were determined and further analyzed through Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway analysis, and potential therapeutic targets were predicted via hub genes. Results : In CAFs, 940 genes were upregulated, and 561 genes were downregulated. These genes were significantly linked to pathways such as MAPK signaling, estrogen signaling, NF-kB signaling, IL-17 signaling, and TGF-ß signaling. These pathways suggest that CAFs are involved in the progression of breast cancer. The hub genes, namely ESR1, MET, IL1B, SMAD3, and FOS, were found to be enriched in key pathways and were associated with certain anti-tumor drugs that are either undergoing clinical trials or have been approved for clinical use. Conclusion : This findings suggest that critical genes such as ESR1, MET, IL1B, SMAD3, and FOS are predicted to contribute to CAF-mediated regulatory networks in breast cancer.
