# Integrative analysis based on the cell cycle-related genes identifies TPX2 as a novel prognostic biomarker associated with tumor immunity in breast cancer

## TL;DR

This study identifies TPX2 as a new prognostic biomarker in breast cancer linked to immune infiltration, offering potential for improved immunotherapy strategies.

## Contribution

TPX2 is newly identified as a prognostic biomarker in breast cancer with a novel association to immune infiltration and PD-L1 expression.

## Key findings

- 18 cell cycle-related differentially expressed genes were identified in breast cancer.
- TPX2, UBE2C, and CCNE2 were highlighted as crucial prognostic candidate biomarkers.
- TPX2 shows a positive correlation with immune infiltration and PD-L1 expression in breast cancer.

## Abstract

Background: This study aims to identify the essential cell cycle-related genes associated with prognosis in breast cancer (BRCA), and to verify the relationship between the central gene and immune infiltration, so as to provide detailed and comprehensive information for the treatment of BRCA.

Materials and Methods: Gene expression profiles (GSE10780, GSE21422, GSE61304) and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) BRCA data were used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and further functional enrichment analysis. STRING and Cytoscape were employed for the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network construction. TPX2 was viewed as the crucial prognostic gene by the Survival and Cox analysis. Furthermore, the connection between TPX2 expression and immune infiltrating cells and immune checkpoints in BRCA was also performed by the TIMER online database and R software.

Results: A total of 18 cell cycle-related DEGs were identified in this study. Subsequently, an intersection analysis based on TCGA-BRCA prognostic genes and the above DEGs identified three genes (TPX2, UBE2C, CCNE2) as crucial prognostic candidate biomarkers. Moreover, we also demonstrated that TPX2 is closely associated with immune infiltration in BRCA and a positive relation between TPX2 and PD-L1 expression was firstly detected.

Conclusions: These results revealed that TPX2 is a potential prognostic biomarker and closely correlated with immune infiltration in BRCA, which could provide powerful and efficient strategies for breast cancer immunotherapy.