POSTN and breast cancer: Among the 10 hub genes identified, CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 encode chemokines that participate in the modulation of immune cell infiltration in BC, in agreement with previous reports26,27; SPP1, POSTN, and COL1A1, which are elevated in patients with high-risk BC, are positively correlated with macrophage infiltration; and MMP9 is functionally correlated with infiltrating neutrophils and DCs.