Article Text
Abstract
Regulatory brain cytoplasmic 200 RNA (BC200 RNA) is highly expressed in human mammary carcinoma cells. Here, we ask whether BC200 RNA becomes detectable in peripheral blood of patients with invasive breast cancer. Using quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) methodology, we observed that BC200 RNA blood levels were significantly elevated, in comparison with healthy subjects, in patients with invasive breast cancer prior to tumorectomy (p=0.001) and in patients with metastatic breast cancer (p=0.003). In patients with invasive breast cancer who had recently undergone tumorectomy, BC200 RNA blood levels were not distinguishable from levels in healthy subjects. However, normality analysis revealed a heterogeneous distribution of patients in this group, including a subgroup of individuals with high residual BC200 RNA blood levels. In blood from patients with invasive breast cancer, BC200 RNA was specifically detected in the mononuclear leukocyte fraction. The qRT-PCR approach is sensitive enough to detect as few as three BC200 RNA-expressing tumor cells. Our work establishes the potential of BC200 RNA detection in blood to serve as a molecular indicator of invasive breast malignancy.
- cancer
- Rna
- biological markers
- blood cell count
- hematologic tests
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Footnotes
Contributors AI, GAS, and HT designed the overall experimental approach. Experiments were performed by AI, EQC, and RLC. Subject recruitment was overseen by EQC, RLC, and GAS; they also reviewed patients’ records and oncological assessments. LA contributed to data presentation and manuscript preparation.
Funding This work was supported, in part, by a Friends for an Earlier Breast Cancer Test Foundation grant (AI), a Susan G Komen for the Cure grant BCTR90106 (HT), and NIH grants DA026110 and NS046769 (HT).
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent Obtained.
Ethics approval 267093-11.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.