TRAF6 as a potential target in advanced breast cancer: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and bioinformatics validation

TRAF6 has emerged as a key regulator of breast cancer (BCa). However, the TRAF family constitutes of seven members that exhibit distinct and overlapping functions. To explore which TRAF represents a potential druggable target for BCa treatment, we searched Medline, Web of Science and Scopus for relevant studies from inception to June 27, 2021. We identified 14 in vitro, 11 in vivo and 4 human articles. A meta-analysis of pharmacological studies showed that in vitro inhibition of TRAF2/4 (mean difference (MD): − 57.49, 95% CI: − 66.95, − 48.02, P < 0.00001) or TRAF6 (standard(Std.)MD: − 4.01, 95% CI: − 5.75, − 2.27, P < 0.00001) is associated with reduction in BCa cell migration. Consistently, inhibition of TRAF2/4 (MD: − 51.08, 95% CI: − 64.23, − 37.94, P < 0.00001) and TRAF6 (Std.MD: − 2.80, 95% CI: − 4.26, − 1.34, P = 0.0002) is associated with reduced BCa cell invasion, whereas TRAF2/4 inhibition (MD: − 40.54, 95% CI: − 52.83, − 28.26, P < 0.00001) is associated with reduced BCa cell adhesion. Interestingly, only inhibition of TRAF6 (MD: − 21.46, 95% CI: − 30.40, − 12.51, P < 0.00001) is associated with reduced cell growth. In animal models of BCa, administration of pharmacological inhibitors of TRAF2/4 (Std.MD: − 3.36, 95% CI: − 4.53, − 2.18, P < 0.00001) or TRAF6 (Std.MD: − 4.15, 95% CI: − 6.06, − 2.24, P < 0.0001) in mice is associated with reduction in tumour burden. In contrast, TRAF6 inhibitors (MD: − 2.42, 95% CI: − 3.70, − 1.14, P = 0.0002) reduced BCa metastasis. In BCa patients, high expression of TRAF6 (Hazard Ratio: 1.01, CI: 1.01, 1.01, P < 0.00001) is associated with poor survival rate. Bioinformatics validation of clinical and pathway and process enrichment analysis in BCa patients confirmed that gain/amplification of TRAF6 is associated with secondary BCa in bone (P = 0.0079), and poor survival rate (P < 0.05). Overall, TRAF6 inhibitors show promise in the treatment of metastatic BCa. However, low study number and scarcity of evidence from animal and human studies may limit the translation of present findings into clinical practice.