Abstract
The reprogramming of energy metabolism is one of the hallmarks of cancer and is crucial for tumor progression. Altered aerobic glycolysis is a well-known characteristic of cancer cell metabolism. In the present study, the expression profiles of key metabolic genes (
HK2
,
PFKM,
and
PKM2
) were assessed in the breast cancer cohort of Pakistan using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and IHC. Expression patterns were correlated with molecular subtypes and clinical parameters in the patients. A significant upregulation of key glycolytic genes was observed in tumor samples in comparison to their adjacent controls (
p
< 0.0001). The expression of the studied glycolytic genes was significantly increased in late clinical stages, positive nodal involvement, and distant metastasis (
p
< 0.05).
HK2
and
PKM2
were found to be upregulated in luminal B, whereas
PFKM
was overexpressed in the luminal A subtype of breast cancer. The genes were positively correlated with the proliferation marker
Ki67
(
p
< 0.001). Moreover, moderate positive linear correlations between
HK2
and
PKM2
(r = 0.476),
HK2
and
PFKM
(r = 0.473), and
PKM2
and
PFKM
(r = 0.501) were also observed (
p
< 0.01). These findings validate that the key regulatory genes in glycolysis can serve as potential biomarkers and/or molecular targets for breast cancer management. However, the clinical significance of these molecules needs to be further validated through in vitro and in vivo experiments.