mir31and mir214 as a Potential Biomarker: Evaluating Its Expression and Progesterone Levels in Breast cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer remains the most frequently diagnosed malignancy among women globally. (miRs) are small non-coding RNAs that critically regulate gene expression and are often dysregulated in various malignancies, serving as potential biomarkers for cancer progression. Progesterone, an endogenous steroid hormone, acts as a key regulator in mammary gland development and can significantly influence breast cancer risk and cyclical tumor cell proliferation. This study aimed to evaluate the expression levels of mir31 and mir214 as potential blood-based biomarkers in Iraqi women with breast cancer, and to assess their correlation with serum progesterone levels across different age groups and clinical stages. To achieve this, a case-control study was conducted involving 100 participants, including 50 apparently healthy controls and 50 breast cancer patients (clinical stages I–III, pre-metastasis, both treated and untreated). Circulating miRs were extracted, and the relative expression fold changes of mir31 and mir214 were quantified via Quantitative Real-Time PCR (qRT-PCR) using a SYBR Green assay, normalized against the miRU6 small nuclear RNA housekeeping gene, while serum progesterone levels were determined using the Cobas e 411 automated immunoassay system with statistical analyses performed via IBM SPSS Statistics version 26. The results demonstrated that the highest distribution of breast cancer patients was within the 51–60 years age category (48.00%), showing a statistically significant difference compared to other age groups (p = 0.01). Significant differences were also observed across clinical stages, with mean values reflecting advancement from stage I to stages II and III (p = 0.001). Serum progesterone levels showed age-dependent fluctuations, with significant decreases in the 41–50 and 61–70 age brackets compared to healthy controls (p = 0.05). Notably, correlation analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between the expression fold changes of mir31 and mir214 in association with progesterone hormone levels (r = 0.284, p = 0.026). These findings suggest that the dysregulated expression of circulating mir31 and mir214, alongside their positive correlation with serum progesterone levels, underscores their potential utility as non-invasive blood-based biomarkers for monitoring breast cancer progression and hormonal alterations in Iraqi patients.