VCAN and breast carcinoma: Possibly, VCAN interacts with important signaling factors such as the fibrogenesis factor TGF-β and the inflammatory factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), which may contribute to shoulder morbidity by promoting fibrogenesis and nociceptive signaling, respectively [17, 35, 36]; perhaps, increased expression of VCAN amongst G allele carriers leads to enhanced fibrosis and pain signaling in the shoulder in response to late treatment effects amongst breast cancer survivors.