TGFB1 and cancer: To uncover the potential molecular mechanisms that could explain the synergistic effects of TNFα/TGFβ pathway combination in prognostic prediction of BLBC, we first examined the associations of TNFα and TGFβ signaling with the alterations of six cancer-related pathways, including p53, BRAF, EGFR, androgen receptor (AR), beta-catenin (BCAT) and PI3K pathways that were reported to play important roles in the molecular pathogenesis of BLBC 43, 44.