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Updated: Oct 19, 2025

Clinicopathological Analysis of miRNA Expression in Breast Cancer Tissues by Using miRNA In Situ Hybridization
Published on: June 7, 2016
circRNA-miRNA-mRNA in breast cancer
Meilan Zhang1, Xue Bai1, Xuemei Zeng1
1Cancer Research Institute of Hengyang Medical College, University of South China, Key Laboratory of Cancer Cellular and Molecular Pathology in Hunan Province, Hunan, Hengyang 421001, China.
Abstract:
Among cancers, breast cancer has the highest incidence rate among women and poses a tremendous threat to women's health. Messenger RNA (mRNA), microRNA (miRNA) and circular RNA (circRNA) play vital roles in the progression of breast cancer through a variety of biological effects and mechanisms. Recently, the regulatory network formed by circRNAs, miRNAs and mRNAs has piqued attention and garnered interest. CircRNAs bind to miRNAs through a regulatory mechanism in which endogenous RNAs compete to indirectly regulate the expression of mRNA corresponding to downstream target genes of miRNAs, contributing to the progression of breast cancer. The circRNA-miRNA-mRNA axis may be a marker for the early diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer and a potential breast cancer treatment target, providing unlimited possibilities for the development of breast cancer biomarkers and therapeutic strategies. This article reviews recent research progress on the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA axis as a regulatory network of competing endogenous RNAs in breast cancer. Herein, we focus on the mechanism and function of the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA axis in the occurrence and metastasis of breast cancer, and resistance to chemotherapy.
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