Affiliations: [a] Breast Cancer Center, Shandong Cancer Hospital, Jinan, Shandong, China | [b] Department of the Second General Surgery, People's Hospital of Haiyang, Yantai, Shandong, China | [c] Department of Laboratory, Women and Children's Hospital of Qingdao, Qingdao, Shandong, China
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Wenshu Zuo, Breast Cancer Center, Shandong Cancer Hospital, 440 Jiyan Road, Jinan, Shandong 250117,
China. Tel.: +86 0531 87984777; Fax: +86 0532 87984079; E-mail:chenyingej@126.com
Abstract: BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNA) expression profiles might be useful
novel biomarkers for tumor diagnostic and histological characterization.
OBJECTIVE: Associations of miR-146 expression and breast cancer in
very young women needed to be elucidated.
METHODS: We investigated expressions of miR-146a, miR-146b and IL-6
in tissues between 120 young women with primary breast cancer and 130
patients with breast fibroadenoma by RT-PCR. The associations between the
expression of miR-146, IL-6 and clinical parameters of breast cancer were
analyzed.
RESULTS: Levels of miR-146a and miR-146b in breast cancer tissues
were lower while level of IL-6 was higher compared to the fibroadenoma
tissues and pericancerous breast tissues (P< 0.05). Positive associations
were found between levels of miR-146a/b and IL-6 in breast cancer tissues
and ER-PgR-, HER2/neu-, Ki-67 index ≥ 20%, tumor size >
2 cm, positive distant metastasis and lymph node metastasis, advanced clinical TNM stages
(III-IV) and basal-like phenotype (P< 0.05).
CONCLUSION: Down-regulations of miR-146a and miR-146b expression
in breast tissues were related to development and deterioration of breast
cancer. miR-146a and miR-146b might act as potential biomarkers for young
women with breast cancer.
Keywords: Breast cancer, miR-146a, miR-146b, RT-PCR
