Abstract

This study presents technology to detect and quantify microRNAs (miRNAs) as possible cancer biomarkers, using breast cancer as an example. The majority of breast cancer cases are identified at more advanced stages, reducing the likelihood of survival for the patient. Several microRNAs (miRNAs) have been demonstrated to have high preliminary clinical sensitivity and specificity for early cancer diagnosis or staging, and they are up-or down-regulated in breast cancer patients at different stages. Methods based on the analysis of nucleic acids, such as reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), microarrays, and next-generation sequencing (NGS), may be used to estimate the relative abundance of specific miRNAs of interest. For miRNA biomarker identification, NGS is the most effective technology, whereas RT-qPCR has the greatest potential for future clinical diagnostic applications.