Bioinformatics Analysis Highlight Differentially Expressed CCNB1 and PLK1 Genes as Potential Anti-Breast Cancer Drug Targets and Prognostic Markers

Abstract

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in women worldwide. Early diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of breast cancer are global challenges. Identification of valid predictive diagnosis and prognosis biomarkers and drug targets are crucial for breast cancer prevention. This study characterizes differentially expressed genes (DEGs) based on the TCGA database by using DESeq2, edgeR, and limma. A total of 2032 DEGs, including 1026 up-regulated genes and 1006 down-regulated genes were screened. Followed with WGCNA, PPI analysis, GEPIA 2, and HPA database verification, thirteen hub genes including <i>CDK1</i>, <i>BUB1</i>, <i>BUB1B</i>, <i>CDC20</i>, <i>CCNB2</i>, <i>CCNB1</i>, <i>KIF2C</i>, <i>NDC80</i>, <i>CDCA8</i>, <i>CENPF</i>, <i>BIRC5</i>, <i>AURKB</i>, <i>PLK1</i>, <i>MAD2L1</i>, and <i>CENPE</i> were obtained, and they may serve as potential therapeutic targets of breast cancer. Especially, overexpression of <i>CCNB1</i> and <i>PLK1</i> are strongly associated with the low survival rate of breast cancer patients, demonstrating their potentiality as prognostic markers. Moreover, <i>CCNB1</i> and <i>PLK1</i> are highly expressed in all breast cancer stages, suggesting that they could be further studied as potential drug targets. Taken together, our study highlights <i>CCNB1</i> and <i>PLK1</i> as potential anti-breast cancer drug targets and prognostic markers.