Ann Lab Med.  2015 Mar;35(2):226-232. 10.3343/alm.2015.35.2.226.

Quantitative Measurement of Serum MicroRNA-21 Expression in Relation to Breast Cancer Metastasis in Chinese Females

• Wang G
• Wang L
• Sun S
• Wu J
• Wang Q

• KMID: 2363183
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3343/alm.2015.35.2.226

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in females. Aberrant expression of microRNA-21 (miR-21) has previously been reported in breast cancer tissue. The aim of this study was to investigate expression levels of serum miR-21 in breast cancer patients and evaluate its prognostic value in Chinese females.
METHODS
Real-time quantitative (RQ)-PCR was used to analyze miR-21 expression in archived serum, tumor tissue, and adjacent normal tissue from 549 participants (326 with breast cancer, 223 without breast cancer). We also analyzed associations between serum miR-21 expression and breast cancer subtypes and patient prognosis. Recurrence and survival were analyzed by using the multivariate Cox proportional hazards model.
RESULTS
Expression of miR-21 was significantly higher in breast cancer tissues compared with normal adjacent breast tissues (P<0.001). The 2(-DeltaDeltaCt) values for serum miR-21 in breast cancer patients versus healthy controls were 9.12+/-3.43 and 2.96+/-0.73, respectively. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards model suggested that serum miR-21 expression was an independent poor prognostic factor for both recurrence (hazard ratio [HR]= 2.942; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.420-8.325; P=0.008) and disease-free survival (HR=2.732; 95% CI=1.038-7.273, P=0.003) in breast cancer.
CONCLUSIONS
Increased serum miR-21 expression level was correlated with poor prognosis of breast cancer patients, indicating that serum miR-21 may be a novel prognostic marker for recurrence and survival of breast cancer patients before resection.

Keyword

Biomarker; Breast cancer; Prognosis; Serum miR-21

MeSH Terms

Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics
Breast/metabolism
Breast Neoplasms/metabolism/mortality/*pathology
Disease-Free Survival
Female
Humans
Kaplan-Meier Estimate
Lymphatic Metastasis
MicroRNAs/*blood
Neoplasm Recurrence, Local
Prognosis
Proportional Hazards Models
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
Biomarkers, Tumor
MicroRNAs

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Association between serum microRNA-21 (miR-21) expression and tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage. Significant: 2-sided Pearson's chi-square test, P<0.05.Abbreviations: miR-21, microRNA-21; TNM, tumor-node-metastasis.

• 

  Fig. 2 Kaplan-Meier curves for recurrence-free survival in 326 breast cancer patients. Recurrence-free survival was significantly lower in patients with high serum miR-21 expression than in patients with low serum miR-21 expression.

• 

  Fig. 3 Kaplan-Meier curves for disease-free survival in 326 breast cancer patients. Disease-free survival was significantly lower in patients with high serum miR-21 expression than in patients with low serum miR-21 expression.

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