Circulating signatures of microRNAs as non-invasive biomarkers in early detection of breast cancer.

• Grant number: 15/21082-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: October 01, 2016
• End date: September 30, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Human and Medical Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Márcia Maria Chiquitelli Marques Silveira
• Grantee: Márcia Maria Chiquitelli Marques Silveira
• Host Institution: Hospital do Câncer de Barretos. Fundação Pio XII (FP). Barretos , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Cristovam Scapulatempo Neto ; Geraldo Aleixo da Silva Passos Júnior ; René Aloisio da Costa Vieira ; Rui Manuel Vieira Reis

Abstract

Breast cancers are the leading cause of cancer mortality among women. It is known that early tdetection improve the chances of cure. Currently mammography is the standard tool for screening and early detection of breast cancer. However besides the discomfort that the examination leads to the woman, many false positive results are still associated with this exam primarily for early stage cases of the disease or in young women who have a very dense breast tissue hindering tumor visualization. Therefore, there is a need for highly sensitive and specific minimally invasive biomarker based on assays for early detection of breast cancer, alone or in combination with mammography. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNAs present in the circulation with clear importance in regulating tumor progression. Since miRNAs represent a promising new class of diagnosis biomarkers that has been shown to be superior to corresponding mRNA signatures because are very stable in different body fluids such as plasma, our hypothesis is that there are certain miRNAs that have specific expression patterns in breast tumors. These miRNAs will be associated with early stages of the disease and once identified can be used as minimally invasive biomarkers for early detection of breast cancer. It is known that microarrays technology is shown as a powerful tool to establish expression profiles of microRNAs that are tissue specific. While many studies are limited to the use of fresh tissues, other types of samples such as blood plasma are a great potential for the early diagnosis of diseases such as breast cancer. Considering the above, our main aim is to identify molecular signatures of circulating microRNAs as non-invasive biomarkers for early detection at breast cancer. The results of this project will be useful for a better understanding of the genetic molecular basis of the early stages of breast cancer development and identify new minimally-invasive biomarkers associated to this process. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SOUZA, KAREN C. B.; EVANGELISTA, ADRIANE F.; LEAL, LETICIA F.; SOUZA, CRISTIANO P.; VIEIRA, RENE A.; CAUSIN, RHAFAELA L.; NEUBER, A. C.; PESSOA, DANIELE P.; PASSOS, GERALDO A. S.; REIS, RUI M. V.; et al. Identification of Cell-Free Circulating MicroRNAs for the Detection of Early Breast Cancer and Molecular Subtyping. JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY, v. 2019, AUG 8 2019. (15/21082-0)