The following is a summary of “Expression study of microRNA cluster on chromosome 19 (C19MC) in tumor tissue and serum of breast cancer patient,” published in the October 2023 issue of Oncology by Altalebi et al. 

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in women worldwide. MicroRNAs, small RNA molecules, are thought to play a key role in cancer development. A cluster of microRNA genes on chromosome 19 (C19MC) could potentially regulate breast cancer cell growth and spread. Researchers performed a retrospective study to compare the expression of C19MC microRNAs in BC tumors and serum samples and in healthy individuals.

The study collected peripheral blood samples from 100 BC patients and 100 healthy individuals. BC samples, including tumor and margin tissues, were also obtained. After RNA extraction, real-time PCR was used to examine the expression of the C19MC cluster, including mir-515-1, mir-515-2, mir-516-A1, mir-516-A2, mir-516-B1, mir-516-B2, mir-517-A, mir-517-B, mir-517-C, and mir-518-A1, in both the serum and tissue of BC patients and tumor margins. Statistical analyses and ROC curves were generated using GraphPad Prism software (v8.04), with a significance level set at P< 0.05.

The result demonstrated that all C19MC microRNAs, except for mir-517-B, mir-517-C, and mir-518, were expressed at higher levels in BC than in healthy tissue. The study suggested that C19MC microRNAs could be used to detect BC and that some of these microRNAs may play a key role in the development of BC.

Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11033-023-08801-x