FAM83A is a potential biomarker for breast cancer initiation

Background Family with sequence similarity 83 member A (FAM83A) presents oncogenic properties in several cancers including breast cancer. Recently, we reported FAM83A overexpression in normal breast tissues from women at high risk of breast cancer. We now hypothesize that FAM83A is a key factor in breast cancer initiation. Methods Immunohistochemical staining was used to evaluate FAM83A protein levels in both a normal breast tissue microarray (TMA, N = 411) and a breast tumor TMA (N = 349). EGFR staining and its correlation with FAM83A expression were also assessed. Lentivirus-mediated manipulation of FAM83A expression in primary and hTERT-immortalized breast epithelial cells was employed. Biological and molecular alterations upon FAM83A overexpression/downregulation and FAM83A’s interaction partners were investigated. Results TMA analysis revealed a 1.5-fold increase in FAM83A expression level in breast cancer cases as compared with normal breast tissues (p Conclusions This study shows that FAM83A promotes metabolic activation in primary breast epithelial cells and cell proliferation in both primary and immortalized cells. These findings support its role in early breast oncogenesis.