TRPM7 is required for breast tumor cell metastasis.

TRPM7 encodes a Ca2+-permeable nonselective cation channel with kinase activity. TRPM7 has been implicated in control of cell adhesion and migration, but whether TRPM7 activity contributes to cancer progression has not been established. Here we report that high levels of TRPM7 expression independently predict poor outcome in breast cancer patients and that it is functionally required for metastasis formation in a mouse xenograft model of human breast cancer.

Association of the germline TP53 R72P and MDM2 SNP309 variants with breast cancer survival in specific breast tumor subgroups.

The tumor suppressor gene TP53 and its regulator MDM2 are both important players in the DNA-damage repair "TP53 response pathway". Common germline polymorphisms in these genes may affect outcome in patients with tumors characterized by additional somatic changes in the same or a related pathway. To evaluate this hypothesis, we determined the effect of the common germline TP53 R72P and MDM2 SNP309 polymorphisms on breast cancer survival in a consecutive cohort of breast cancer patients (age at diagnosis <53 years, n = 295) with gene expression data available.