Evaluation of 5'-tRF-His-GTG As a Molecular Biomarker in Breast Cancer Diagnoses and Prognosis

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Molecular Biology
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Breast cancer (BC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality in women globally.
• Current diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for BC are suboptimal, necessitating novel approaches.
• Transfer-RNA-derived RNA fragments (tRFs) are emerging as small noncoding RNAs involved in cancer progression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify a specific tRF, 5 acronym{'-tRF-His-GTG'}acronym, as a potential molecular marker for BC diagnosis and prognosis.
• To investigate the correlation between 5 acronym{'-tRF-His-GTG'}acronym expression and clinicopathological parameters in various BC subtypes.
• To analyze the prognostic value of 5 acronym{'-tRF-His-GTG'}acronym expression in relation to patient survival outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Quantification of 5 acronym{'-tRF-His-GTG'}acronym levels in BC tissues (n=101) and normal breast tissues (n=22) using in situ hybridization.
• Analysis of clinicopathological parameters including tumor stage, lymph node status, hormone receptor status, and histopathological grade.
• Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses to predict biological functions.

Main Results:

• Significantly downregulated expression of 5 acronym{'-tRF-His-GTG'}acronym was observed in BC tissues compared to normal tissues.
• Downregulated 5 acronym{'-tRF-His-GTG'}acronym expression correlated with T stage in HER2-positive and basal-like BC, and with N stage and histopathological grade in luminal BC.
• Low expression of 5 acronym{'-tRF-His-GTG'}acronym was associated with poorer overall survival in BC patients.

Conclusions:

• The expression level of 5 acronym{'-tRF-His-GTG'}acronym can serve as a novel biomarker for the individual diagnosis of breast cancer.
• Assessment of 5 acronym{'-tRF-His-GTG'}acronym expression holds potential as a prognostic indicator for breast cancer patients.
• Enriched biological processes associated with 5 acronym{'-tRF-His-GTG'}acronym include cation channel activity, protein catabolism, and cell cycle regulation.