Elevated expression of HABP1 is correlated with metastasis and poor survival in breast cancer patients

Hyaluronan-binding protein 1 (HABP1) is a protein with high affinity for HA, and has been reported to be upregulated in cancer cells. In this study, we show that silencing HABP1 inhibits proliferation, and suppresses the migration and invasion ability of breast cancer cell lines. In addition, silencing HABP1 remarkably slows down tumor growth in mice. We examined the correlation between HABP1 expression and clinicopathological parameters using immunohistochemistry in patients with breast cancer. The results indicate that HABP1 is overexpressed in cancer tissue, and its high levels are related to lymph node metastasis (P = 0.032) and tumor stage (P = 0.041). Moreover, high HABP1 expression is correlated with poor overall survival in breast cancer patients (P = 0.018), and is a signifi cant independent prognostic indicator. Our fi ndings suggest that HABP1 regulates proliferation and migration of breast cancer cells. HABP1 may be a useful independent predictor of outcomes in patients with breast cancer.