African American women have the highest risk of breast cancer mortality compared to other racial groups. Differences in tumor characteristics have been implicated as a possible cause; however, the tumor microenvironment may also contribute to this disparity in mortality. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a stroma-derived marker of the tumor microenvironment that may affect tumor progression differentially by race. To examine whether an HGF gene expression signature is differentially expressed by race and tumor characteristics. Invasive breast tumors from 1957 patients were assessed for a 38-gene RNA-based HGF gene expression signature. Participants were black (n = 1033) and non-black (n = 924) women from the population-based Carolina Breast Cancer Study (1993–2013). Generalized linear models were used to estimate the relative frequency differences (RFD) in HGF status by race, clinical, and demographic factors. Thirty-two percent of tumors were positive for the HGF signature. Black women were more likely [42% vs. 21%; RFD = + 19.93% (95% CI 16.00, 23.87)] to have HGF-positive tumors compared to non-black women. Triple-negative patients had a higher frequency of HGF positivity [82% vs. 13% in non-triple-negative; RFD = + 65.85% (95% CI 61.71, 69.98)], and HGF positivity was a defining feature of basal-like subtype [92% vs. 8% in non-basal; RFD = + 81.84% (95% CI 78.84, 84.83)]. HGF positivity was associated with younger age, stage, higher grade, and high genomic risk of recurrence (ROR-PT) score. HGF expression is a defining feature of basal-like tumors, and its association with black race and young women suggests it may be a candidate pathway for understanding breast cancer disparities.

中文翻译：

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乳腺癌中肝细胞生长因子通路的表达（按种族和亚型）

与其他种族群体相比，非裔美国女性患乳腺癌的风险最高。肿瘤特征的差异被认为是一个可能的原因；然而，肿瘤微环境也可能导致这种死亡率差异。肝细胞生长因子（HGF）是肿瘤微环境的基质衍生标志物，可能因种族而异地影响肿瘤进展。检查 HGF 基因表达特征是否因种族和肿瘤特征而存在差异表达。对 1957 名患者的侵袭性乳腺肿瘤进行了基于 38 个基因 RNA 的 HGF 基因表达特征的评估。参与者是来自基于人口的卡罗来纳州乳腺癌研究（1993-2013）的黑人（n = 1033）和非黑人（n = 924）女性。使用广义线性模型来估计种族、临床和人口统计因素的 HGF 状态的相对频率差异 (RFD)。32% 的肿瘤 HGF 特征呈阳性。黑人女性更有可能[42% vs. 21%；与非黑人女性相比，患有 HGF 阳性肿瘤的 RFD = + 19.93% (95% CI 16.00, 23.87)]。三阴性患者的 HGF 阳性频率较高 [82%，非三阴性患者为 13%；RFD = + 65.85% (95% CI 61.71, 69.98)]，HGF 阳性是基底样亚型的一个定义特征 [9​​2% vs. 非基底型 8%；RFD = + 81.84% (95% CI 78.84, 84.83)]。HGF 阳性与较年轻、分期、较高级别和高基因组复发风险 (ROR-PT) 评分相关。HGF 表达是基底样肿瘤的一个决定性特征，其与黑人种族和年轻女性的关联表明它可能是了解乳腺癌差异的候选途径。