Galectins have been shown to have roles in cancer progression via their contributions to angiogenesis, metastasis, cell division, and the evasion of immune destruction. This study analyzes galectin-1, -3, and -9 serum concentrations in breast cancer patients through enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) against the characteristics of the patient and the tumor such as stage, molecular subtype, and receptor expression. Galectin-9 was found to be statistically significantly increased in HER2-enriched tumors and reduced in patients with hormone-receptor-positive tumors. Galectin-1 was found to be statistically significantly increased in the serum of patients who had undergone hormonal, immunotherapy, or chemotherapy. These findings provide insight into the changes in galectin levels during the progress of cancer, the response to treatment, and the molecular phenotype. These findings are valuable in the further understanding of the relationships between galectin and tumor biology and can inform future research on therapeutic targets for galectin inhibitors and the utility of galectin biomarkers.
Keywords: breast neoplasm; galectin; galectin-1; galectin-3; galectin-9; molecular subtype; serum.