MicroRNA Expression Profile in Early-Stage Breast Cancers

Microrna. 2024;13(1):71-81. doi: 10.2174/0122115366256479231003064842.

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in women. Early diagnosis offers the best hope for a cure. Ductal carcinoma in situ is considered a precursor of invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. In this study, we carried out microRNA sequencing from 7 ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), 6 infiltrating ductal carcinomas (IDC Stage IIA) with paired normal, and 5 unpaired normal breast tissue samples.

Methods: We have deployed miRge for microRNA analysis, DESeq for differential expression analysis, and Cytoscape for competing endogenous RNA network investigation.

Results: Here, we identified 76 miRNAs that were differentially expressed in DCIS and IDC. Additionally, we provide preliminary evidence of miR-365b-3p and miR-7-1-3p being overexpressed, and miR-6507-5p, miR-487b-3p, and miR-654-3p being downregulated in DCIS relative to normal breast tissue. We also identified a miRNA miR-766-3p that was overexpressed in earlystage IDCs. The overexpression of miR-301a-3p in DCIS and IDC was confirmed in 32 independent breast cancer tissue samples.

Conclusion: Higher expression of miR-301a-3p is associated with poor overall survival in The Cancer Genome Atlas Breast Cancer (TCGA-BRCA) dataset, indicating that it may be associated with DCIS at high risk of progressing to IDC and warrants deeper investigation.

Keywords: DCIS.; Next Generation sequencing; benign tumor; breast cancer; ceRNA; small RNAs.

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics
  • Breast Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Breast Neoplasms* / mortality
  • Breast Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast* / genetics
  • Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast* / pathology
  • Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating* / genetics
  • Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating* / pathology
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic* / genetics
  • Humans
  • MicroRNAs* / genetics
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Staging
  • Transcriptome / genetics

Substances

  • MicroRNAs
  • Biomarkers, Tumor