title: miR-21 Expression in Pregnancy-Associated Breast Cancer: A Possible Marker of Poor Prognosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that can act as key modulators in tumorigenesis-related genes. Specifically, it has been suggested that miR-21 overexpression plays a role in the development and progression of breast cancer. So far, the role of miRNAs in pregnancy-associated breast cancer (PABC) has not been investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We evaluated miR-21 expression by quantitative RT-PCR in 35 patients, 25 with PABC and 10 control breast cancer cases not pregnancy-associated with similar clinicopathological features. We then analyzed protein expression for PTEN, BCL2 and PDCD4 as miR-21 target genes by IHC, and finally correlated the results with patients' clinicopathological features.Significant overexpression of miR-21 in PABC tumors compared to normal adjacent tissue was found. Overexpression of miR-21 was frequently found in high grade tumors with loss of hormone receptor expression and was significantly associated with positive lymph nodes (p=0.025). In PABC patients, PTEN, BCL2 and PDCD4 target protein expression was decreased in 80%, 76% and 40% respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study supports the involvement of miR-21 in breast cancer progression and metastasis formation in PABC implying a role of this miRNA as a marker for poor prognosis in PABC patients.
authors.affiliation: 1. Laboratory of Pathology, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA;
authors.forename: Beatriz A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gómez-Macias
authors.forename: Vladimir A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Valera
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sobel
authors.forename: Maria J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Merino