Emergence of Circulating MicroRNAs in Breast Cancer as Diagnostic and Therapeutic Efficacy Biomarkers

Abstract

Breast cancer is the second most common cause of deaths reported in women worldwide, and therefore there is a need to identify breast cancer patients at an early stage as timely diagnosis would help in effective management and appropriate monitoring of patients. Nevertheless, it is challenging to achieve these goals due to the lack of a specific biomarker for early detection and monitoring in breast cancer. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as master regulators of the molecular pathways highlighted in different tumors leading to progression in malignancies. With the rapid advancements in molecular research, the potential to use miRNAs as prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers in breast cancer has been highlighted, as their dysregulation is directly associated with breast cancer progression and metastasis. The ease of detection and long-term stability of circulating miRNAs in blood makes them a promising candidate for non-invasive breast cancer biomarkers.