Diagnostic efficacy of circulating microRNAs‑27a, ‑122 and ‑155 in detecting early‑stage breast cancer

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) are found in numerous body fluids in healthy and disease conditions. In various types of malignancies, miRNAs are abnormally expressed and dysregulated. The present study determined and compared the circulating levels of miR‑27a, ‑122 and ‑155 in patients with early‑stage breast cancer, benign breast tumors and healthy controls. For this purpose, samples were collected from 56 newly‑diagnosed patients with early‑stage breast cancer, 56 patients with benign breast tumors and 56 age‑matched healthy controls. Serum was separated and reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR was used to quantify the expression levels of miRNAs. The diagnostic efficacy of individual miRNAs and the combined effect of all three miRNAs were compared in the three groups. The results revealed that the expression levels of the three miRNAs (miR‑27a, miR‑122 and miR‑155) in serum were significantly increased in patients with early‑stage breast cancer when compared to those with benign breast tumors patients and the healthy controls (P<0.001). Receiver‑operating‑characteristic curve (ROC) analysis indicated that the serum levels of the miRNAs, miR‑27a, miR‑122 and miR‑155, exhibited sensitivity (80.4, 78.6 and 69.6%, respectively) and specificity (89.3, 98.2 and 71.4%, respectively) for the detection of early‑stage breast cancer in patients compared to healthy controls. ROC curve analysis also revealed that the serum of the three miRNAs exhibited sensitivity (76.8, 78.6 and 69.6%%, respectively) and specificity (98.2, 87.5 and 78.6%, respectively) for the detection of early‑stage breast cancer in patients compared to benign breast tumors. On the whole, the present study demonstrates a considerable diagnostic accuracy of these miRNAs for the detection of early‑stage breast cancer. These miRNAs thus have potential for use as non‑invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis and screening of breast cancer.