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Exploring research progress in studying serum exosomal miRNA-21 as a molecular diagnostic marker for breast cancer

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Abstract

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies affecting women globally and poses a significant public health challenge. Early clinical detection plays a pivotal role in providing optimal treatment opportunities and favorable prognoses, crucial for reducing breast cancer mortality and enhancing patients’ quality of life. Therefore, the timely identification and diagnosis of breast cancer are imperative. Conventional tumor markers, such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 15-3 (CA15-3), serve as reliable methods for actively monitoring disease progression and have become a routine auxiliary diagnostic approach in clinical settings. However, these biomarkers exhibit limitations in sensitivity and specificity, particularly in the early screening and diagnosis of tumors, often yielding results inconsistent with clinical manifestations. In recent years, research has increasingly focused on exosomes released by tumor cells as potential new biomarkers for early stage breast cancer screening. Exosomes carry various components, including tumor-derived proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids. This paper delves into the specific utilization of serum exosomal microRNA-21 (miR-21) as a biomarker for early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer, evaluating its efficacy within this framework.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

CEA:

Carcinoembryonic antigen

CA15-3:

Carbohydrate antigen 15-3

miR-21 (microRNA-21):

Microribonucleic acid-21

mRNAs:

Messenger RNAs

miRNAs:

MicroRNAs

ncRNAs:

Non-coding RNAs

lncRNAs:

Long non-coding RNAs

Bcl-2:

B-cell lymphoma 2

BRCA1:

Breast cancer susceptibility gene 1

BRCA2:

Breast cancer susceptibility gene 2

P53:

Tumor suppressor protein p53

DOR:

Diagnostic odds ratio

NLR:

Negative likelihood of detection results ratio

PLR:

Positive likelihood ratio

CI:

Confidence interval

PTEN:

Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10

PI3K:

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase

PI3K/AKT/mTOR:

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase/v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene/mammalian target of rapamycin

MFC-7:

Michigan Cancer Foundation-7

PDCD4:

Programmed cell death protein 4

EGF:

Epithelial growth factor

TGF-β:

Transforming growth factor β

TPM1:

Tumor suppressor gene tropomyosin 1

Maspin:

Mammary serine protease inhibitor

LC/MS/MS:

Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry

RPM1:

Receptor protein against Pseudomonas MACULICOLA1

HER2:

Human epidermal growth receptor 2

BCSC:

Breast cancer stem cells

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the hard and dedicated work of all the staff who implemented the intervention and evaluation components of the study.

Funding

No external funding received to conduct this study.

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Author notes

  1. Hang Li and Xiao-jing Tie have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Kaifeng Central Hospital, 85 HeDao Street, Kaifeng, 475000, China

    Hang Li

  2. Department of Oncology, Kaifeng Central Hospital, Kaifeng, 475000, China

    Xiao-jing Tie

Authors
  1. Hang Li
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Contributions

Conception and design of the research: HL, XT. Acquisition of data: HL, XT. Analysis and interpretation of the data: HL. Statistical analysis: HL. Obtaining financing: None. Writing of the manuscript: HL. Critical revision of the manuscript for intellectual content: HL. All authors read and approved the final draft.

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Correspondence to Hang Li.

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Li, H., Tie, Xj. Exploring research progress in studying serum exosomal miRNA-21 as a molecular diagnostic marker for breast cancer. Clin Transl Oncol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12094-024-03454-z

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