While long-term outcomes have improved for patients with breast cancer, the most common cancer diagnosed in women, 20% to 30% of these patients will see their breast cancer come back.
In a study from the University of Galway, scientists found that microRNA (miRNA) can be used as a biomarker to predict which patients are likely to face breast cancer recurrence and death.
The process of identifying which patients are more likely to have breast cancer recurrence has been a challenge.
In the study, the team set out to determine whether miRNAs—small, non-coding molecules that modulate gene expression and affect cancer development—predict which breast cancer patients are more likely to have a recurrence of, and die from, breast cancer.
They recruited 124 patients who were treated with standard-of-care neoadjuvant chemotherapy for localized breast cancer in eight independent treatment sites across Ireland.
The type of chemotherapy varied according to the judgment of the patient’s healthcare team.
Blood samples were collected from the patients over a three-year period (May 2011-April 2014) at two-time points—at diagnosis and halfway through chemotherapy treatment.
To establish their roles in predicting whether the patient would be free of recurrence or disease and their overall survival, miRNA expression levels were evaluated at each time point.
The researchers discovered that patients with an increased expression of a certain type of miRNA, miR-145, are unlikely to have a recurrence of breast cancer.
In other words, miR-145 inhibited the development and progression of cancer.
The team showed that increased expression of this biomarker, which was measured in patients’ blood samples during chemotherapy, actually predicted their long-term oncological outcome.
Researchers can predict those who are likely to suffer recurrence and those who will be free of recurrence.
The authors believe that miR-145 could help identify patients who could benefit from closer breast cancer surveillance and a tailored treatment strategy in the postoperative phase of treatment.
Likewise, it could also identify patients who are at lower risk of recurrence and may not need systemic treatments, which often can have harmful side effects.
If you care about cancer, please read studies about a major cause of deadly breast cancer, and vitamin D supplements strongly reduce cancer death.
For more information about cancer, please see recent studies about drug combos that may stop the spread of cancer, and results showing new cancer vaccines eliminate tumors and prevent cancer recurrence.
The study was conducted by Matthew G. Davey et al and published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
Copyright © 2022 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
