Subtype‐specific clinical and prognostic relevance of tumor‐expressed F5 and regulatory F5 variants in breast cancer: the CoCaV study

Essentials The role of coagulation factor V (encoded by F5) in cancer pathogenesis is unknown. The clinical significance of tumor‐expressed F5 was evaluated in breast cancer patient cohorts. F5 was expressed in human breast tumors, and the expression was higher than in normal tissue. High F5 expression was associated with aggressive tumors, but also with survival in breast cancer. Summary Background Tumor expression of certain coagulation factors has been linked to cancer progression. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in F5 (encoding the FV protein) have been found to be associated with breast cancer; however, the role of coagulation factor V (FV) in cancer pathogenesis remains undiscovered. Objectives We aimed to investigate the clinical significance of FV and the regulatory role of F5 gene variants in breast cancer. Patients/Methods A Scandinavian 503‐sample breast cancer cohort and three public breast cancer datasets (GOBO, TCGA and KM plotter) were used to determine associations between F5 gene expression (tumor‐specific), circulating FV, F5 SNPs, clinical characteristics and breast cancer survival. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to detect FV antigen in tumors. Results F5 expression was 2‐fold higher in breast tumors compared with normal tissue, and the presence of FV antigen in breast tumors was confirmed by IHC staining. F5 expression was increased in patients with hormone receptor negative tumors, triple negative tumors, HER2‐enriched and basal‐like tumors. In patients with basal tumors, high expression of F5 was associated with improved overall survival (hazard ratio, HR = 0.52, 95% confidence interval, 0.31–0.86). SNPs in F5 were associated with tumor size and luminal A tumors. The rs6427202‐rs9332542 C‐G haplotype, previously associated with breast cancer, displayed a cis‐regulatory effect on F5 expression in tumors and plasma FV antigen levels. In silico mining supported this regulatory function. Conclusions FV was a possible marker of aggressive breast cancer, yet also a predictor of favorable outcome. Evaluation of FV expression may be clinically useful for prognosis and treatment decisions in aggressive breast cancer.