RTN

The software tool "RTN" (Risk Trends Network) is focused on unraveling the molecular mechanisms by which the fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) locus influences breast cancer risk, a connection consistently observed in genome-wide association studies. Through the analysis of model systems, RTN has demonstrated that genes regulated by FGFR2 are significantly associated with breast cancer risk loci in expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analyses. This finding supports that genes contributing to cancer risk tend to be organized in specific pathways. By analyzing over 2,000 transcriptional profiles, RTN has identified several key regulators of FGFR2 signaling, including SPDEF, ERα, FOXA1, GATA3, and PTTG1. Importantly, it has been shown that the estrogen receptor (ER) activity is influenced by FGFR2 signaling. The involvement of ER, FOXA1, and GATA3 in regulating genes associated with breast cancer susceptibility aligns with the known preventive effect of anti-estrogen treatments in breast cancer.