Exploring new biomarkers in the tumour microenvironment of canine inflammatory mammary tumours

Human inflammatory breast cancer ( IBC ) and canine inflammatory mammary cancer ( CIMC ) are the most aggressive forms of mammary cancer. Current research aims to identify new therapeutic targets. Here, we investigated gene expression levels of biomarkers associated with the inflammatory microenvironment. A total of 32 formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded samples of canine mammary carcinoma ( CIMC  = 26; non‐ CIMC  = 6) were used and their cDNA subjected to quantitative polymerase chain reaction ( qPCR ) to establish gene expression levels for mediators commonly implicated in linking carcinogenesis with inflammation. Gene expression differences between CIMC and non‐ CIMC types were obtained for cyclooxygenase 2 ( COX ‐2) ( P  = 0.004), synuclein gamma (SNCG) ( P  = 0.006), tribbles 1 ( P  = 0.025), vascular endothelial growth factor ( VEGF ) ( P  = 0.017) and CSF1R ( P  = 0.045). Among these biomarkers correlations were found, particularly between SNCG and tribbles 1 ( r  = 0.512, P  = 0.001). The efficient metastasis of CIMC is intimately linked to components in the tumour microenvironment. This study suggests that upregulation and correlation of SNCG and tribbles 1 deserves to be further explored.