• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.59-66
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• 2013

A metabolomics study was conducted to identify urinary biomarkers for breast cancer, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), analyzed by principal components analysis (PCA) as well as a partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) for a metabolic pattern analysis. To find potential biomarkers, urine samples were collected from before- and after-mastectomy of breast cancer patients and healthy controls. Androgens, corticoids, estrogens, nucleosides, and polyols were quantitatively measured and urinary metabolic profiles were constructed through PCA and PLS-DA. The possible biomarkers were discriminated from quantified targeted metabolites with a metabolic pattern analysis and subsequent screening. We identified two biomarkers for breast cancer in urine, ${\beta}$-cortol and 5-methyl-2-deoxycytidine, which were categorized at significant levels in a student t-test (p-value < 0.05). The concentrations of these metabolites in breast cancer patients significantly increased relative to those of controls and patients after mastectomy. Biomarkers identified in this study were highly related to metabolites causing oxidative DNA damage in the endogenous metabolism. These biomarkers are not only useful for diagnostics and patient stratification but can be mapped on a biochemical chart to identify the corresponding enzyme for target identification via metabolomics.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.185-189
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• 2019

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women with approximately 522,000 deaths annually worldwide. microRNAs have recently been studied as potential biomarkers that regulate gene expression and are involved in tumorigenesis. Here we evaluated circulating miR-221 and miR-222 as potential biomarkers for breast cancer by quantitative reverse transcription PCR using blood plasma of 30 healthy controls and 30 breast cancer patients. The TNM stage on circulating miR-221 and miR-222 was also investigated. Circulating miR-221 and miR-222 were significantly up-regulated in breast cancer patients compared to those in healthy controls (P < 0.0022 and P = 0.0058, respectively). Furthermore, the relative expression level of circulating miR-221 in patients with stage III breast cancer was higher than in those with stage I and II. Taken together, we have shown circulating miR-221 and miR-222 could be useful biomarkers for the screening of breast cancer patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.1595-1608
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• 2016

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is defined as a type of breast carcinoma that is negative for expression of oestrogene and progesterone hormone receptors (ER, PR) and HER2. This form of breast cancer is marked by its aggressiveness, low survival rate and lack of specific therapies. Recently, important molecular characteristics of TNBC have been highlighted and led to the identification of some biomarkers that could be used in diagnosis, as therapeutic targets or to assess the prognosis. In this review, we summarize recent progress in TNBC research focusing on the genetic and epigenetic alterations of TNBC and the potential use of these biomarkers in the targeted therapy for better management of TNBC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.20
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• pp.8529-8538
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• 2014

According to the China tumor registry 2013 annual report, breast cancer, lung cancer, and ovarian cancer are three common cancers in China nowadays, with high mortality due to the absence of early diagnosis technology. However, proteomics has been widespreadly implanted into every field of life science and medicine as an important part of post-genomics era research. The development of theory and technology in proteomics has provided new ideas and research fields for cancer research. Proteomics can be used not only for elucidating the mechanisms of carcinogenesis focussing on whole proteins of the tissue or cell, but also seeking the biomarkers for diagnosis and therapy of cancer. In this review, we introduce proteomics principles, covering current technology used in exploring early diagnosis biomarkers of breast cancer, lung cancer and ovarian cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.4317-4321
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• 2015

Background: Prognostic biomarkers in breast cancer are routinely investigated in the primary tumors to guide further management. However, it is proposed that the expression may change during the disease progression, and may result in a different immune profile in the metastatic nodes. This work aimed to investigate the expression of breast prognostic biomarkers in primary tumors and in its axillary nodal metastasis, to estimate the possible discordant expression. Materials and Methods: 60 paired primary and axillary nodal metastasis samples were collected from patients with primary breast cancer with positive nodal deposits, diagnosed at the Maadi Military Hospital, Cairo, Egypt, during the year 2013. ER, PR and HER2 expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry in all samples Results: 48.3% of the included cases showed concordant results for both ER and PR receptors between the primary tumor and its nodal metastasis while 51.7% showed discordant results and the discordance level was statistically significant. On the other hand, 70% of the cases showed concordant Her2 results between the primary tumors and the nodal deposits, 30% showed discordant results and the difference was significant. Conclusions: The study indicated that the discordance in ER and PR receptor expression between the primary breast tumor and their nodal metastasis may be significant. The possible switch in the biomarker status during the disease progression is worth noting and may change the patient therapeutic planning. So, whether the treatment selection should be based on biomarkers in the lymph node is a topic for further studies and future clinical trials.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.623-633
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• 2024

This study systematically reviewed the role of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in the assessment of molecular prognostic biomarkers in breast cancer, focusing on the correlation of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) with hormone receptor status and prognostic biomarkers. Our meta-analysis includes data from 52 studies examining ADC values in relation to estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), and Ki-67 status. The results indicated significant differences in ADC values among different receptor statuses, with ER-positive, PgR-positive, HER2-negative, and Ki-67-positive tumors having lower ADC values compared to their negative counterparts. This study also highlights the potential of advanced DWI techniques such as intravoxel incoherent motion and non-Gaussian DWI to provide additional insights beyond ADC. Despite these promising findings, the high heterogeneity among the studies underscores the need for standardized DWI protocols to improve their clinical utility in breast cancer management.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.3311-3317
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• 2014

Background: The consequence of Rho GDP dissociation inhibitor alpha (RhoGDI${\alpha}$) activity on migration and invasion of estrogen receptor positive ($ER^+$) and negative ($ER^-$) breast cancer cells has not been studied using the proteomic approach. Changes in expression of RhoGDI${\alpha}$ and other proteins interacting directly or indirectly with RhoGDI${\alpha}$ in MCF7 and MDA-MB-231, with different metastatic potentials is of particular interest. Materials and Methods: $ER^+$ MCF7 and ER- MDA-MB-231 cell lines were subjected to two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and spots of interest were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of- flight/time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF/TOF) mass spectrometry (MS) analysis after downregulation of RhoGDI${\alpha}$ using short interfering RNA (siRNA) and upregulated using GFP-tagged ORF clone of RhoGDI${\alpha}$. Results: The results showed a total of 35 proteins that were either up- or down-regulated in these cells. Here we identifed 9 and 15 proteins differentially expressed with silencing of RhoGDI${\alpha}$ in MCF-7 and the MDA-MB-231 cells, respectively. In addition, 10 proteins were differentially expressed in the upregulation of RhoGDI${\alpha}$ in MCF7, while only one protein was identified in the upregulation of RhoGDI${\alpha}$ in MDA-MB-231. Based on the biological functions of these proteins, the results revealed that proteins involved in cell migration are more strongly altered with RhoGDI-${\alpha}$ activity. Although several of these proteins have been previously indicated in tumorigenesis and invasiveness of breast cancer cells, some ohave not been previously reported to be involved in breast cancer migration. Hence, these proteins may serve as useful candidate biomarkers for tumorigenesis and invasiveness of breast cancer cells. Conclusions: Future studies are needed to determine the mechanisms by which these proteins regulate cell migration. The combination of RhoGDI${\alpha}$ with other potential biomarkers may be a more promising approach in the inhibition of breast cancer cell migration.

• Journal of Breast Cancer
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.363-370
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• 2018

Purpose: Breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer among women worldwide, and therefore, improved approaches for its early detection are urgently needed. As microRNAs (miRNAs) are increasingly recognized as critical regulators in tumorigenesis and possess excellent stability in plasma, this study focused on using miRNAs to develop a method for identifying noninvasive biomarkers. Methods: To discover critical candidates, differential expression analysis was performed on tissue-originated miRNA profiles of 409 early breast cancer patients and 87 healthy controls from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. We selected candidates from the differentially expressed miRNAs and then evaluated every possible molecular signature formed by the candidates. The best signature was validated in independent serum samples from 113 early breast cancer patients and 47 healthy controls using reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: The miRNA candidates in our method were revealed to be associated with breast cancer according to previous studies and showed potential as useful biomarkers. When validated in independent serum samples, the area under curve of the final miRNA signature (miR-21-3p, miR-21-5p, and miR-99a-5p) was 0.895. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 97.9% and 73.5%, respectively. Conclusion: The present study established a novel and effective method to identify biomarkers for early breast cancer. And the method, is also suitable for other cancer types. Furthermore, a combination of three miRNAs was identified as a prospective biomarker for breast cancer early detection.

• BMB Reports
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.266-271
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• 2020

Breast cancer encompasses a major portion of human cancers and must be carefully monitored for appropriate diagnoses and treatments. Among the many types of breast cancers, triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) has the worst prognosis and the least cases reported. To gain a better understanding and a more decisive precursor for TNBC, two major histone modifications, an activating modification H3K4me3 and a repressive modification H3K27me3, were analyzed using data from normal breast cell lines against TNBC cell lines. The combination of these two histone markers on the gene promoter regions showed a great correlation with gene expression. A list of signature genes was defined as active (highly enriched H3K4me3), including NOVA1, NAT8L, and MMP16, and repressive genes (highly enriched H3K27me3), IRX2 and ADRB2, according to the distribution of these histone modifications on the promoter regions. To further enhance the investigation, potential candidates were also compared with other types of breast cancer to identify signs specific to TNBC. RNA-seq data was implemented to confirm and verify gene regulation governed by the histone modifications. Combinations of the biomarkers based on H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 showed the diagnostic value AUC 93.28% with P-value of 1.16e-226. The results of this study suggest that histone modification analysis of opposing histone modifications may be valuable toward developing biomarkers and targets for TNBC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1285-1292
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• 2016

Background: It is well established that mutations in the BRCA1 gene are a major risk factor for breast cancer. Induction of cancer cell death and inhibition of survival are the main principles of cancer therapy. In this context, autophagy may have dual roles in cancer, acting on the one hand as a tumor suppressor and on the other as a mechanism of cell survival that can promote the growth of established tumors. Therefore, understanding the role of autophagy in cancer treatment is critical. Moreover, defects in apoptosis, programmed cell death, may lead to increased resistance to chemotherapy. Purpose: The aim of the present study was to detect BRCA1 gene mutations in order to throw more light on their roles as risk factors for breast cancer in Egypt. Secondly the role of autophagy and apoptosis in determining response to a fluorouracil, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide (FAC) regimen was investigated. Materials and Methods: Forty-five female breast cancer cases and thirty apparently healthy females were enrolled in the present study. Serum levels of autophagic biomarkers, Beclin 1 and LC3 as well as the serum levels of apoptosis biomarkers Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 were measured before and after chemotherapy. Results: BRCA1 mutations were found in 5 (16.7%) and 44 (99.8%) of the controls and cancer patients, the most frequent being 5382insC followed by C61G and 185 delAG. The results revealed that chemotherapy caused elevation in serum concentration levels of the autophagic biomarkers (Beclin 1 and LC3). This elevation was associated with a significant decrease in serum concentration levels of Bcl-2 and significant increase in caspase-3 concentration levels (apoptotic markers). Conclusions: The results of the present study indicate a very high level of BRCA mutations in breast cancer cases in Egypt and point to involvement of autophagic and apoptotic machinery activation in response to FAC chemotherapy.