MicroRNA-124-3p Functions as a Marker in Diagnosing Breast Cancer

Abstract BackgroundEarly diagnosis of breast cancer can reduce the high fatality rate. Thus novel diagnostic methods are urgently required for breast cancer patients. The research aimed at checking potential correlation for serum microRNA-124-3p (miR-124-3p) expression with breast cancer, and exploring its competence as a promising potential biomarkers for breast cancer.MethodsQuantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay detected miR-124-3p levels. Possible relationship between miR-124-3p degree and clinical features of breast cancer patients was measured by Chi-square analysis. Sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve (AUC) for serum miR-124-3p degree were settled adopting receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analyses.ResultsRelative degree for serum miR-124-3p notably reduced among breast cancer sufferers in comparison with healthy persons (P=0.000). Moreover, miR-124-3p degree held tight connection to clinical stage (P=0.034), histological grade (P=0.002), and lymph node metastasis (P=0.001). ROC curve analyses unveiled at the optimal cut-off of 0.935, serum miR-124-3p expression reached a sensitivity of 78.4% and a specificity of 84.8% in discriminating between breast cancers sufferers and healthy persons, achieving an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.872 (95% CI: 0.752-0.871).ConclusionSerum miR-124-3p degree might represent one non-invasive indicator in diagnosing breast cancer.