Abstract 177P
Background
Breast cancer (BC) corresponds to a heterogeneous group of tumours with significant variations attributed to the histopathological profiles, spread of tumour and response to treatments. Several microRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to be associated with the pathogenesis, prognosis, and survival of BC patients. However, the precise potential of these miRNAs for diagnosis at early stages of disease warrants further investigation. In the present study, we identified three candidate miRNAs (miR-21, miR-96 and miR-195) via meta-analysis followed by experimental evaluation of diagnostic accuracy of selected miRNAs for the diagnosis of early-stage BC.
Methods
The present study cohort was comprised of 178 participants grouped as early-stage BC (n = 56) and fibroadenoma patients as controls (n= 122). Matched tissue (cancerous & adjacent non-cancerous) and blood samples were collected. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was performed to measure expression levels followed by statistical analysis.
Results
The expression of miR-21 and -96 was significantly elevated (P< 0.05) in BC tissues in comparison to paired non-cancerous tissues, whereas miR-195 levels were significantly downregulated (P< 0.01). To determine whether the expression is reflective of disease pathology, miR-21, -96 and -195 levels were compared between BC and fibroadenoma patients. miR-21 levels were not significantly different between BC and fibroadenoma tissues, suggesting that elevated expression of miR-21 is a common event. miR-96 and -195 showed significant up- and downregulated expression (P< 0.001) respectively in BC patients compared to fibroadenoma patients. The non-invasive diagnostic potential of each miRNA was evaluated in plasma samples from study participants. Both miR-21 and -96 showed significant upregulation whereas miR-195 levels were significantly downregulated in BC in comparison to fibroadenoma patients (P< 0.01). ROC analyses of plasma miR-96 and -195 yielded an AUC of 0.96 and 0.85 with sensitivity: specificity (%) ratios of 95.6:99.0 and 93.6:100 respectively, when differentiating between BC and fibroadenoma patients.
Conclusions
A novel panel of plasma miRNAs has been proposed that is expected to assist in early diagnosis and timely intervention in BC patients, thereby improving the overall survival rate and dereasing the number of deaths associated with this tumour type.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
Shafiqa Siddique.
Funding
National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS), COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI).
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.