Abstract
Recently, Lei et al., (2018) published an article in Cancer Medicine claiming a survival benefit of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) and sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1P1) expression in breast cancer patients. This controversial study opposes the prevailing view concerning the deleterious role of S1P in cancer. This is discussed in depth in the current opinion article.
Highlights
The bioactive lipid, sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is formed by the sphingosine kinase-catalyzed phosphorylation of sphingosine
We have proposed that the positive and negative function of the sphingosine 1phosphate receptor 2 (S1P2) receptor in cancer might be dependent on its sub-cellular localization [14]
We conclude that meaningful analysis of the impact of tumor S1P receptor sub-type expression on the survival of breast cancer patients requires analysis of actual protein levels and not mRNA
Summary
The bioactive lipid, sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is formed by the sphingosine kinase-catalyzed phosphorylation of sphingosine. High SphK1 mRNA in tumors had no effect on 10 year relapse free disease survival, while high SphK2 mRNA was found to have a positive impact in patients with non-classified, or basal type BCA and those who had received adjuvant therapy. Lei et al [8] reported that high S1P1 mRNA in tumors was associated with improved survival in patients with non-classified BCA and in those receiving treatment, but had no effect on patients with basal cell type BCA.
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