Figure 1. MAL2 expression correlates with poor survival of breast cancer patients without affecting breast cancer cell proliferation.

(A) Forest plot with HR is shown for overall survival analysis (best separation) of 20 top-ranked human genes that are negatively correlated with clinical outcomes in breast cancer. A total of 1,075 breast cancer patients from TCGA are included. (B) Cell proliferation was measured for mouse and human TNBC cells with different MAL2 levels (6 replicates under each condition). Data are presented as mean ± SD. Two-way ANOVA test was used for statistical analysis. (C–E) EO771-derived breast tumor growth in immunocompromised mice. EO771 cells with different Mal2 expression levels were orthotopically injected into female NU/J mice (5 × 10⁴ cells per mouse). Tumor volume = 0.5 × length × width × width. Tumor images (C), tumor weights (D), and tumor growth curves (E) are shown here. Data are presented as mean ± SD. One-way and 2-way ANOVA tests were used for data analysis in tumor weight and tumor growth, respectively. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001.