To assess the clinical utility of serum circulating microRNA-21 (miR-21) in the early diagnosis of breast cancer (BC) and compare its diagnostic performance with traditional serum biomarkers, VEGF and CA15-3.
Key Findings:
Serum levels of miR-21, VEGF, and CA15-3 were significantly elevated in BC patients compared to healthy controls (p<0.05).
miR-21 and CA15-3 levels were significantly higher in the BC group than in the benign nodule group (p<0.05).
No significant correlations were found between miR-21 and VEGF or CA15-3 in the BC cohort.
miR-21 had an AUC of 0.897 for distinguishing BC from healthy individuals, with sensitivity of 81.10% and specificity of 98.40%.
For differentiating BC from benign nodules, miR-21 had an AUC of 0.842, with sensitivity of 76.40% and specificity of 98.60%.
