LAUSR

Background: Cancer occurs due to genetic or epigenetic factors. Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among females and is considered the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Biomarker screening through epigenetic studies has a considerable effect on cancer management. Methods: The E-cadherin gene expression and its associated regulatory microRNA, miR-888, were studied in 60 ductal carcinoma BC patients compared with normal controls using real-time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction. In addition, the association of the gene and microRNA expression with hormone receptors and other clinicopathologic characteristics was assessed. The correlation between plasma and tumor miR-888 expression was studied to evaluate its possible noninvasive cancer-related marker potential. Results: The results showed a significant increase in expression of miR-888, as opposed to E-cadherin downregulation, in tumor tissues compared with normal controls. The miR-888 and E-cadherin mRNA levels showed an inverse correlation. The overexpression of miR-888 in both tumor and plasma and downregulation of E-cadherin were significantly prominent in nodal involvement and distant metastasis status as well as higher stages of the disease and triple-negative tumor hormone receptor status. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves indicated that overall survival was significantly poor in BC patients with higher miR-888 and lower E-cadherin expression. Conclusions: The data revealed that miR-888 might be considered a potential poor prognostic BC biomarker. Further research is needed to confirm this theory.