MicroRNA expression profiling analysis on a group of 52 heredo-familial and sporadic breast cancer samples

In this study, using microarray technology we did a transcriptome profiling of miRNAs on a group of 52 cases of familial (BRCA1- or BRCA2-mutated, or BRCAX, i.e. familial cases with no mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes) and sporadic breast cancers. Class comparison of different clinical characteristics of the samples identified miR-342 as the miRNA with the most significant association with estrogen receptor (ER) status (categorised as positive and negative) of the samples analysed. As ER is one of the bio-pathological features currently used in routine clinical practice to aid treatment decision in breast cancer, identification of this miRNA has been promising for finding new mechanisms involved in this tumour type as we had next demonstrated in a cellular model of breast cancer. In the study presented here, microRNAs expression profiling on a well defined cohort of 52 breast cancer cases, followed up for more than 5 years, was used for a class comparison analysis with some relevant clinical characteristics of this tumour type like estrogen, progesterone or epidermal growth factor 2 receptor status.

本研究采用微阵列（microarray）技术，对52例家族性与散发性乳腺癌样本开展微小RNA（miRNA）转录组谱分析。其中家族性病例涵盖乳腺癌易感基因1（BRCA1）或乳腺癌易感基因2（BRCA2）基因突变型，以及BRCAX型（即BRCA1和BRCA2基因均未发生突变的家族性病例）。通过对样本的不同临床特征进行类别比较分析，发现miR-342与所分析样本的雌激素受体（ER）状态（分为阳性与阴性）关联最为显著。鉴于ER是当前临床常规诊疗中用于辅助乳腺癌治疗决策的生物病理学特征之一，该微小RNA的鉴定为探寻此类肿瘤的新型发病机制带来了希望，我们后续已在乳腺癌细胞模型中对此进行了验证。本研究针对52例随访时长超过5年的定义明确的乳腺癌队列开展微小RNA表达谱分析，并针对该肿瘤类型的相关临床特征（如雌激素、孕激素及表皮生长因子2受体状态）开展类别比较分析。