Circulating serum micro-ribonucleic acids 155 and 205 before and after surgery in patients with breast cancer

Background: Micro-ribonucleic acids (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression. Expression of miRNAs has been shown to be dysregulated in patients with breast cancer. These markers have been shown to be potential markers of diagnostic significance. We intended to study the usefulness of miRNA-155 and miRNA-205 in monitoring response to surgery by monitoring their pre- and post-operative expression. Methods: Twenty patients newly diagnosed with malignant breast disease along with 20 age-matched females not having any breast lesion were included in the study. Reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction was used to assess the expression of circulating miRNAs. Results: MiRNA-155 was found to be significantly upregulated and miRNA-205 was significantly downregulated in patients with breast cancer compared to controls. There was no change in expression of miRNA-155 and miRNA-205 following surgery. Conclusions: The findings of the present study do not support the role of miRNA-155 and miRNA-205 as markers suitable for follow-up. However, the findings of the present study need to be confirmed in a larger sample size and samples collected over a defined post-operative period.