Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between ASF1B expression and pathological characteristics of breast cancer, and to further explore its role in tumor progression and the immune microenvironment, thereby evaluating its potential as a therapeutic target. METHODS: ASF1B expression in breast cancer was analyzed using the GEPIA2 and BEST databases. Its association with patient prognosis was assessed using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Protein co-expression networks were constructed using GeneMANIA. The correlation between ASF1B expression and immune cell infiltration was evaluated through the TIMER platform. Experimental validation was performed using qPCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC) on 67 breast cancer tissue samples. RESULTS: ASF1B expression was significantly elevated in breast cancer tissues compared to normal tissues (p < 0.05). High ASF1B expression was associated with reduced overall and recurrence-free survival (p < 0.05). Protein interaction analysis revealed that ASF1B was strongly linked to proteins involved in DNA replication, cell cycle progression, and chromatin remodeling. Immune analysis indicated positive correlations with B cells, neutrophils, and dendritic cells and a negative correlation with macrophage infiltration (p < 0.05). Clinical data further showed that high ASF1B expression was significantly associated with HER2-positive breast cancer (p = 0.026). CONCLUSION: ASF1B is highly expressed in breast cancer and correlates with poor prognosis and immune cell infiltration. It may serve as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in breast cancer.