Cardiovascular-oncogenic gene crosstalk in breast cancer: Survival, prognosis and therapeutic strategies

Table 2 Cytokines associated with breast cancer and cardiovascular diseases

Cytokine	Role in breast cancer	Role in cardiovascular disease
TNF-α	TNF-α promotes breast cancer progression by enhancing tumor growth, metastasis, and inflammation, and its elevated level is associated with poor clinical outcomes[70,71]	TNF-α damages vascular endothelial cells, increasing endothelial permeability, lipid deposition, inflammation, thrombosis, and vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, thereby promoting atherosclerosis and increasing the risk of ischemic heart disease and MI[74,75]
IL-1β	IL-1β induces IL-6 via nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells, promoting breast cancer progression and aggressiveness[81]	IL-1β increases endothelial adhesion molecules, promoting leukocyte recruitment and vascular inflammation. This leads to endothelial dysfunction and accelerates atherosclerosis[83,84]
IL-6	Elevated IL-6 levels correlated with unfavorable clinical outcomes in breast cancer[89]	IL-6 induces systemic inflammation and atherosclerosis, contributing to cardiovascular complications such as myocardial infarction and peripheral arterial disease[90]
TGF-β	TGF-β promotes epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, thereby enhancing invasion, metastasis, and immune evasion, thereby supporting breast cancer progression[91,92]	Elevated TGF-β promotes cardiac fibrosis and pathological myocardial remodeling after ischemic injury, increasing the risk of ischemic heart disease and heart failure[93,94]

TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha; IL-1β: Interleukin-1β; IL-6: Interleukin-6; TGF-β: Transforming growth factor-beta; MI: Myocardial infarction.