Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) genes are downregulated in breast cancer

BACKGROUND: The suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) family of proteins are inhibitors of the cytokine-activated Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK/STAT) signaling pathway. We aimed at evaluation of expression of SOCS genes in breast cancer. METHODS: We evaluated expression of SOCS1–3 and SOCS5 genes in breast cancer samples compared with the corresponding adjacent non-cancerous tissues (ANCTs). RESULTS: All assessed SOCS genes were significantly downregulated in tumoral tissues compared with ANCTs. SOCS1 and SOCS2 genes were significantly overexpressed in higher grade samples, but SOCS3 had the opposite trend. Significant correlations were found between expression levels of SOCS genes. The SOCS1 and SOCS2 expression levels had the best specificity and sensitivity values respectively for breast cancer diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The current study provides further evidence for contribution of SOCS genes in breast cancer.