Insight into the potential significance of miR-760 and miR-1973 in breast cancer: a comprehensive analysis

Abstract

Aberrant expression levels of miR-760 and miR-1973 were observed in different solid tumors; however, their expression levels in breast cancer (BC) remain unclear. This study aimed to evaluate their expression levels, assess their relationship with the clinicopathological features, and explore their molecular mechanisms using bioinformatic analysis. MiRNAs’ expression levels and CA 15.3 concentration were measured in 130 patients and 30 healthy controls. Databases were used to predict their target genes, functional enrichment analyses were carried out, and PPI network was constructed. Additionally, the Kaplan-Meier (KM) plotter online database was utilized for survival analysis. Both miRNAs’ levels were significantly overexpressed in BC patients and more pronounced in the early stage. Further, the diagnostic abilities of miR-760 and miR-1973 were superior in discriminating BC patients than CA 15.3. These miRNAs were associated with increased susceptibility to BC. Based on bioinformatic analysis, 4 hub genes were identified and implicated in significant signaling pathways in BC. KM plotter demonstrated that BC patients with overexpressed miR-760 had shorter overall survival. In conclusion, this study provides novel insights into the clinical utility of miR-760 and miR-1973 as non-invasive biomarkers for BC and sheds light on their important contribution to BC pathogenesis.