Circulating plasma RNY1 as a potential biomarker of breast cancer: a case-control study

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in women globally, with early detection playing a crucial role in improving treatment outcomes and survival rates. There is an urgent need for novel biomarkers to aid in early diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment prediction. YRNAs, small non-coding RNAs, have been explored as biomarkers in various cancers, but their role in BC remains under-investigated. This study aimed to explore the expression of circulating plasma YRNAs in BC patients and evaluate their potential as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers.

Plasma samples were collected from 50 BC patients and 50 age-matched healthy controls. The expression levels of four YRNAs (RNY1, RNY3, RNY4, and RNY5) were measured using quantitative real-time PCR. We also examined the association between YRNA expression and TNM staging, along with their predictive value for disease-free survival.

RNY1 was significantly upregulated in BC patients compared to healthy controls, while RNY3, RNY4, and RNY5 did not show significant differences. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for RNY1 was 0.816 (95% CI: 0.732-0.901), demonstrating good discriminatory power. High RNY1 expression correlated with advanced TNM stage and poor prognosis. Additionally, RNY1 expression predicted disease-free survival, as shown by Kaplan-Meier and univariate Cox regression analyses.

The altered expression of RNY1 in BC patients is associated with advanced TNM stage and poor prognosis, suggesting its potential as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in BC.