Breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in women and the fifth leading cause of global cancer mortality. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are essential regulators in the oncogenesis process and the identification of tumor-specific circulating miRNAs could be used for early detection of cancer. We aimed to investigate the expression pattern of microRNA 96 (miR-96) and explore its diagnostic potential in breast cancer.
Subjects and methods: This study comprised 30 treatment-naïve female patients diagnosed with primary breast cancer and 20 healthy volunteers as the control group. MicroRNA 96 (miR-96) expression was measured in serum samples using Reverse Transcription Quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The diagnostic value of miR-96 was analyzed with Receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curve.
Results: Our results shows that miR-96 was significantly upregulated in breast cancer cases compared to control subjects (P<0.05). MiR-96 showed a significant diagnostic clinical value with area under the curve (AUC) 0.959, 100% sensitivity and 95.2% specificity.
Conclusion: The current study implies that serum miR-96 may be a valuable and promising diagnostic marker for early detection of breast cancer. Future studies are needed to investigate the potential role of miR-96 in predicting prognosis and monitoring response to treatment. Additionally, further research is required to study the feasibility of silencing miR-96 using antagomirs for the management of breast cancer.