Clinical Significance And Prognosis Of PKM2 Expression Levels In Triple-negative Breast Cancer

Background: Triple negative breast cancer(TNBC),which is prone to early recurrence and metastasis,has a poor prognosis.Glucose metabolism plays an important role in the development of breast cancer,and long non-coding RNA(lnc RNA)plays an important role in regulating glucose metabolism.Pyruvate kinase M2(PKM2)is a key enzyme in the gluconeogenesis pathway,and as it may play a key role in the proliferation of TNBC,it may become a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for breast cancer.Therefore,this study was carried out to investigate the relationship between PKM2 and TNBC.Methods: The expression level of PKM2 protein in TNBC cell lines was detected by western blotting,and the relationship between LINC02273 and PKM2 was analysed.The association between PKM2 and breast cancer was predicted through public web databases.From December 2015 to December 2017,the clinicopathological data of 79 TNBC patients diagnosed and treated in our hospital were collected,and the expression of PKM2 in TNBC tissues and corresponding paracancerous tissues was detected separately using Western blotting,and the expression levels of PKM2 protein in cancer tissues and paracancerous tissues were compared and analysed using statistical methods in relation to the clinicopathological characteristics and survivability.Using Cox proportional risk regression models,the researchers compared and analyzed the link between PKM2 expression levels in cancer and paraneoplastic tissues,as well as the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of TNBC patients.Results: LINC02273 correlated with PKM2 protein expression and may increase PKM2 expression in triple-negative breast cancer.PKM2 protein expression varied between cancerous and paraneoplastic tissues(P<0.001).PKM2 protein expression was found to be linked to lymph node metastasis and differentiation(P < 0.001).The degree of differentiation,lymph node metastasis,and PKM2 protein expression level were independent predictors of overall survival(OS)in patients with triple negative breast cancer(p < 0.05).Conclusion: High PKM2 expression means poorer survival and prognosis for patients,and PKM2 is expected to be a new marker for prognosis assessment and a new target for precision therapy in TNBC.