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Abstract
Aim. The underlying biological processes are crucial for understanding the process of breast tumorigenesis. Accordingly, the present study aims to investigate the impact of the expression of key cellular components [PIM1, leptin hormone (LEP) and Interleukin 20 (IL20)] in both of breast benign lumps and malignant cancer.
Materials and Methods. For this purpose, a serum blood samples were collected from all participants including 50 newly diagnosed breast cancer, 23 with benign breast lumps and 45 age-matched healthy controls. The expression of PIM1 was assessed by qRT-PCR, while serum LEP and IL 20 were estimated via ELISA technique.
Results. The result of this study showed PIM1 gene expression was significantly (p ˂ 0.0134) elevated in breast cancer patients at both malignant and benign level (2.76 ± 0.27 and 2.84 ± 0.42) relative to that of healthy controls. PIM1 expression seemed to be significantly influenced (p ˃ 0.05) by breast cancer’s age and menopausal status. Serum leptin levels also was significantly increased (p ˂ 0.001) in patients diagnosed with breast cancer in comparison to that in benign breast lumps and healthy control (2 ± 0.14 vs. 0.69 ± 0.014 and 0.64 ± 0.03 ng/ml, respectively). Age and menopausal status were seeming to significantly (p ˂ 0.05) affect leptin serum levels of the assessed breast cancer patients. IL-20 serum levels showed a significant increase (p ˂ 0.05) in patients with benign breast lumps compared to malignant breast cancer patients and healthy control groups.
Conclusion. Overall, the present study findings suggest that oncogenic PIM1 gene, LEP, and IL-20 expression are being selected to confer growth advantage for breast cells toward malignant transformation for both benign and malignant transformation of breast cell.
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