Meta-analysis of the differentially expressed breast cancer-related microRNA expression profiles

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), as non-coding RNA molecules, play an important role in regulating gene expression in cancer development. Meta-analysis was used to screen overlapping differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) in three studies. The miRanda was used to identify target genes related to overlapping DEmiRNAs. These Gene Ontology (GO) and Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database were applied to further predict the function of these target genes. As a result, we obtained seven overlapping miRNAs and six significantly over-represented GO terms closely related to breast cancer. After KEGG pathways analysis, a total of seven key target genes were involved in the Wnt signalling pathway (p = 0.0002). Our findings from this study suggest that the altered levels of miRNAs might have great potential to serve as novel, non-invasive biomarkers for early detection of breast cancer.