High FAS expression correlates with a better prognosis and efficacy of taxanes and target regents in breast cancer

Background FAS can serve as both an oncogene and a suppresser in different malignancies, and the prognostic value of FAS remains controversial. Methods The Oncomine database, KM-Plotter and bc-GenExMiner platform were adopted to analyze the prognostic value of FAS in breast cancer. Breast cancer tissue microarrays were further used to verify these data. The Cell Miner Tool was used to predict the value of FAS mRNA expression in predicting the efficacies of clinical drugs. Results We found that both FAS mRNA and protein expression level significantly reduced in breast carcinoma. In addition, high FAS expression indicates a better metastatic relapse-free survival. Interestingly, FAS was associated with a better prognosis in different subtypes of breast cancer patients, namely, only in grade II and III, lymph nodal positive or p53 wild-type patients. The data from the Cell Miner Tool revealed that FAS mRNA expression was correlated with the efficacy of the first-line chemotherapeutic taxane agents and target drugs including olaparib and everolimus. Conclusions FAS expression correlates with a better prognosis in breast cancer and may provide an effective clinical strategy to predict the sensitivity of taxanes and targeted drugs.