The expression of galectin-3 in breast cancer and its association with chemoresistance: a systematic review of the literature

Purpose Galectin-3 is a M-r 31,000 protein that belongs to a family of carbohydrate-binding proteins. Galectin-3 has already been associated with protection against apoptosis through cell to cell or cell to matrix adhesion processes. It seems that galectin-3 plays an important role in tumor progression, cell growth, invasion and metastasis. Galectin-3 is the only member of the chimeric galectins that has an N-terminal glycine and proline domain and a C-terminal carbohydrate recognition domain that allows galectin-3 to accommodate larger structures such us polylactosaminoglycans and intervene to DNA damage repair process. In this systematic review, our primary goal is to identify the effect of galectin-3 expression in association with drug resistance and apoptosis inhibition in breast cancer. Materials and methods Scopus and PubMed databases were searched on 26 November 2018 using the following combination of keywords: (galectin-3 OR gal-3 OR LGALS3) AND (breast cancer) AND (chemoresistance OR (drug resistance) OR chemosensitivity). All the articles in English, regardless the time of publication, text availability and species included were initially accepted. Results In the majority of the included studies, the expression of galectin-3 had a protective role in cell survival via different pathways such as the response to DNA damage and repair or the inhibition of apoptosis after treatment with a chemotherapeutic agent. Conclusion Galectin-3 expression in breast tumors might be an important factor in the selection of the most suitable treatment.