Searching for essential genes and drug discovery in breast cancer and periodontitis via text mining and bioinformatics analysis

The primary purpose of the study was (1) to search for the essential genes associated with breast cancer and periodontitis, and (2) to identify candidate drugs targeted to these genes for expanding the potential drug indications. The genes related to both breast cancer and periodontitis were determined by text mining. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis were performed on these genes, and protein–protein interaction analysis was carried out to export significant module genes. Drug–gene interaction database was employed for potential drug discovery. We identified 221 genes common to both breast cancer and periodontitis. The top six significant enrichment terms and 15 enriched signal pathways were selected. Among 24 significant genes demonstrated as a gene cluster, we found SERPINA1 and TF were significantly related to poor overall survival between the relatively high and low groups in patients. Using the final two genes, 12 drugs were identified that had potential therapeutic effects. SERPINA1 and TF were screened out as essential genes related to both breast cancer and periodontitis, targeting 12 candidate drugs that may expand drug indications. Drug discovery using text mining and analysis of different databases can promote the identification of existing drugs that have the potential of administration to improve treatment in breast cancer.