The methylase SMYD3 promotes tumor cells proliferation, migration and invasion. It is over-expressed in breast cancer (BC), however, a detailed investigation of SMYD3 roles in different molecular subtypes of BC is still lacking.
A new role of SMYD3 in regulating homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair recently emerged. In particular, inhibition of SMYD3 directly blunts HR efficiency by downregulating the expression of HR-related genes, including BRCA2.
In the last years, interest on SMYD3 as prognostic marker and therapeutic target in various solid cancers increased, as great attention has been given to cancers associated with germline mutations in HR genes, due to the clinical relevance related to treatment selection.
In this project, we aim to evaluate SMYD3 expression in BCs characterized by BRCA1/2 mutation status and also to perform germline mutational analysis of SMYD3 gene in BC patients, both females and males, in order to provide insights on its role in BC susceptibility.
BC in men is a rare and less investigated disease compared with BC in women. Due to its rarity, male BC research and clinical management has been considered similar to female BC management. However, increasing molecular evidence indicate that BC in men and women may behave differently.
Overall, the findings of this research project, aiming to characterize SMYD3 as molecular biomarker in specific BC subgroups, will provide insight into the role of SMYD3 in the pathogenesis of BC and eventually into possible new prognostic and therapeutic approaches for BC patients of both genders.
