Ketamine Promoted Breast Cancer Invasion and Metastasis Through Up-regulating Wnt, BMP, and EGFR Signaling

Background/Aim: In this study, we used an orthotropic breast cancer model combined with ketamine addiction and next-generation sequencing (NGS) to comprehensively investigate molecular alterations in ketaminemediated metastasis. Ketamine is widely used in anesthesia and drug abuse. Our previous study revealed that ketamine promotes the growth of breast cancer cells; however, the detailed molecular mechanism remains unknown. Materials and Methods: An orthotropic breast cancer model was established by injecting EO771 breast cancer cells into the mammary fat pad of mice intraperitoneally administered ketamine (30 mg/kg, daily) for 68 days. Tumors collected at day 38 were frozen for future analysis, and their metastasis state was checked at day 68. Results: Tumors were grouped and subjected to NGS analysis, followed by differential gene expression analysis (DEseq) and pathway identification. DEseq analysis showed that ketamine up-regulated metastasis-related signaling, and the key genes were BMP5, FZD6, MMP1B, EGFR, WNT5A, BMP7, and DCN. Conclusion: Ketamine addiction up-regulates the expression of genes involved in the Wnt, EGFR, and BMP signaling cascades, which may be associated with breast cancer progression and metastasis.