The Role of Long Non-Coding RNAs and MicroRNAs in Breast Cancer: Implications for Early Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Axillary Lymph Node Metastasis.
TL;DR
The findings suggest that serum-based molecular profiling could support standard histopathological methods in breast cancer management, and Circulating BLACAT1 demonstrated significant potential as a non-invasive biomarker for the detection of axillary metastases.
Abstract
Background
The presence of axillary metastases is a critical factor for the diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of detecting axillary metastases using preoperative serum samples as a non-invasive alternative to tissue samples, focusing on the expression profiles of BLACAT1, miR-150, miR-503, BCL-2, and CCR-2.
Methods
The study enrolled 61 patients with primary breast cancer who underwent surgical intervention without neoadjuvant treatment. Serum expression levels of the target molecules were analyzed by RT-qPCR and compared between patients with benign and malignant sentinel lymph nodes (SLN), as well as across different molecular subtypes.
Results
Serum BLACAT1 expression was significantly upregulated (2.37-fold, p=0.002) in patients with malignant SLNs compared to those with benign SLNs. miR-150 and miR-503 showed a trend of downregulation in the malignant group (p=0.058 and p=0.089, respectively). In terms of molecular classification, CCR2 was significantly upregulated in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) (p=0.001), while miR-503 was significantly upregulated in HER2+ tumors (p=0.010).
Conclusions
Circulating BLACAT1 demonstrated significant potential as a non-invasive biomarker for the detection of axillary metastases. While miR-150 and miR-503 showed distinct differential expression patterns among molecular subtypes, their diagnostic value for axillary metastasis requires validation in larger cohorts. These findings suggest that serum-based molecular profiling could support standard histopathological methods in breast cancer management.