MiR-27 as a prognostic marker for breast cancer progression and patient survival.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

MicroRNA-27a (miR-27a) is thought to be an onco-microRNA that promotes tumor growth and metastasis by downregulating ZBTB10. The potential predictive value of miR-27a was studied in breast cancer patients.

METHODS:

The expression of miR-27a and ZBTB10 was examined in 102 breast cancer cases using in situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry techniques and were evaluated semi-quantitatively by examining the staining index. The Correlation of miR-27a and ZBTB10 expression was analyed by Spearman Rank Correlation. The association of miR-27a and ZBTB10 expression with clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed using the χ(2) test, and their effects on patient survival were analyzed by a log-rank test and the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to evaluate the prognostic values of miR-27a and ZBTB10.

RESULTS:

miR-27a was markedly up-regulated in invasive breast cancers that expressed low levels of ZBTB10 (P<0.001). A reverse correlation between miR-27a and ZBTB10 was also observed in breast cancer tissue samples (r(s) = -0.478, P<0.001). Furthermore, the expression of miR-27a and ZBTB10 was significantly correlated with clinicopathological parameters, including tumor size, lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis (P<0.05), but not with receptor status. Patients with high miR-27a or low ZBTB10 expression tended to have significantly shorter disease-free survival times (57 months and 53 months, respectively, P <0.001) and overall survival times (58 months and 55 months, respectively, P <0.001). Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that both miR-27a and ZBTB10 were independent prognostic factors of disease-free survival in breast cancer patients (P <0.001), while only miR-27a was an independent predictor of overall survival (P <0.001).

CONCLUSIONS:

High miR-27a expression is associated with poor overall survival in patients with breast cancer, which suggests that miR-27a could be a valuable marker of breast cancer progression.

• Authors: Wei Tang, Jiujun Zhu, Shicheng Su, Wei Wu, Qiang Liu, Fengxi Su, Fengyan Yu
• Journal: PloS one (PLoS One) Vol. 7 Issue 12 Pg. e51702 ( 2012) ISSN: 1932-6203 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 23240057 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Biomarkers, Tumor
• MIRN27 microRNA, human
• MicroRNAs
• Repressor Proteins
• ZBTB10 protein, human

Topics

• Adult
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Biomarkers, Tumor (genetics, metabolism)
• Breast Neoplasms (genetics, metabolism, pathology)
• Disease-Free Survival
• Female
• Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
• Humans
• Kaplan-Meier Estimate
• MicroRNAs (genetics, metabolism)
• Middle Aged
• Prognosis
• Repressor Proteins (genetics, metabolism)