Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To explore the diagnostic value of combined detection of
plasma miR-127-3p and HE4 for breast cancer (BC). METHODS: Included in this study were 102 patients with
pathologically confirmed BC who received treatment in the affiliated
hospital of Nantong University between March 2015 and April 2016, 87
patients with benign breast tumors, and 90 healthy volunteers as control.
Plasma miR-127-3p was detected by SYBR Green RT-qPCR, and plasma HE4 was
detected by chemiluminescent immunoassay. The diagnostic efficacy of
miR-127-3p alone, HE4 alone and combined detection of miR-127-3p and HE4 in
BC women patients was evaluated by ROC curve analysis. RESULTS: The relative expression quantity (RQ) of plasma miR-127-3p
and HE4 in BC patients was 13.561 (3.345∼18.281) pmol/L and 105.42
(40.28∼156.31) pmol/L. The RQ of plasma miR-127-3p in BC patients was
significantly higher than that in benign breast tumor patients and healthy
individuals (both P< 0.001), and there was no significant difference between
benign breast tumor patients and healthy individuals (P> 0.05). There was no
significant correlation between plasma miR-127-3p and HE4 levels
(r2= 0.086, P= 0.471). ROC curve analysis on the diagnostic efficacy of
plasma miR-127-3p and HE4 in BC diagnosis showed that the cut-off value of
miR-127-3p and HE4 in BC diagnosis was 3.471 and 63.21 pmol/L; AUC was 0.767
and 0.670; sensitivity was 78.2% and 64.6%; specificity was 79.1%
and 69.3%; accuracy was 73.2% and 65.1%, respectively. Prediction
probability (P) obtained from the miR-127-3p and HE4 model established by
logistic regression was P= 1/ [1 + exp (-0.142miR-127-3p-0.024HE4 + 2.875)]. AUC
calculated from ROC was 0.825 and the sensitivity was increased to 87.4%. CONCLUSION: Combined detection of plasma miR-127-3p and HE4 greatly
improved the sensitivity of BC diagnosis and may prove to be a candidate
biomarker for early detection and diagnosis of BC.
Keywords: Breast cancer, miRNA, miR-127-3p, HE4, RT-PCR
