Correlation between the risk of lymph node metastasis and the expression of GBP1 in breast cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the prognostic value and correlation between the risk of lymph node metastasis (LNM) and Guanylate-binding Protein 1 (GBP1) in breast cancer (BC) patients.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, the clinical data of 150 patients with BC who were surgically resected in The Affiliated Qingdao Central Hospital of Qingdao University from January 2019 to December 2021 were included. Patients were divided into metastasis group (n=110) or non-metastasis group (n=40) according to whether there was LNM post-surgery. Logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors for LNM in BC, and Kaplan-Meier was used to assess the risk of disease progression 12 months post-operation in both groups. Patients were divided into a GBP1 low expression-group (n=75) or a GBP1 high expression-group (n=75). The risk of disease progression, one-year post-surgery was analyzed, and the predictive value of GBP1 in BC tissue was assessed by the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve.

RESULTS

Independent risk factors for BC with LNM were GBP1, CEA and TNM stage (P<0.05). There is a linear relationship between GBP1 expression and LNM risk in BC (=0.88, P<0.05). Patients with high expression of GBP1 had a higher risk of LNM (=3.204, P<0.001) and early postoperative progression (=7.412, P<0.05). The AUC of GBP1 in predicting the risk of LNM was 0.840.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with BC and a higher expression of GBP1 could be at an increased risk of LNM. Elevations in GBP1 expression can also suggest a poor prognosis for patients with BC.