Study the Association between TNF-α Gene Expression with Antioxidant Defense and Certain Cytokine in Breast Cancer Patients

Author(s): 1Sarah Majid Kadhum , 2Hala Fawzi Hassan, 3Zainab Abdul Gabbar
Date: 09/10/2026
doi: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8425890

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Abstract

Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy among women around the globe, wherein chronic 
inflammation, oxidative stress, and impaired immunity play pivotal roles. To analyze TNF-α gene 
expression and its relationship with antioxidant status and some selected cytokines in breast cancer 
patients. This case-control study was conducted from July of 2025 to February of 2026 at the Zahra 
Teaching Hospital, Kut city, Wasit. Patients and methods: The sample consisted of 87 breast cancer 
patients &80 age and sex matched healthy controls. We measured antioxidants and cytokines in serum 
samples using ELISA kits (SunLong, China). Total RNA was extracted with TRIzol method and assessed 
for its gene expression of TNF-α by RT-qPCR. The majority of breast cancer patients were aged >60 years 
(55.17%). Most patients had tumor size 2–5 cm (58.62%) and left-sided tumors (55.17%). ER-positive 
cases represented 64.37% of patients. Antioxidant markers were significantly reduced in patients, 
including GSH (2.15±0.19 vs 13.82±1.04), SOD (0.59±0.13 vs 8.15±0.61), and TAC (0.09±0.02 vs 
0.31±0.07), P=0.001. Inflammatory cytokines were significantly elevated in patients, including TNF-α 
(84.62±13.48 vs 17.41±3.92), IFN-β (285.15±32.93 vs 37.11±6.47), and IL-1α (52.12±9.44 vs 
21.39±5.27), P<0.001. TNF-α gene expression was significantly upregulated in patients (fold change 2.69 
vs 1.39, P=0.001). ROC analysis showed high diagnostic performance, with IFN-β (AUC=0.96), SOD 
(0.95), and TNF-α (0.94) showing the strongest discrimination. TNF-α gene expression and 
inflammatory/oxidative biomarkers may serve as potential diagnostic indicators in breast cancer.

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