Promotion of tumorigenesis by miR‐1260b–targeting CASP8: Potential diagnostic and prognostic marker for breast cancer

MicroRNAs are reported as promising biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. miR‐1260b is identified as a tumor‐associated noncoding microRNA in other cancers, although the role of miR‐1260b and its clinical relevance in breast cancer remain unclear. In this study, miR‐1260b as a potential prognostic biomarker was observed by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses in 102 breast tumor tissues. The tumorigenic role of miR‐1260b in terms of proliferation, apoptosis, and migration of breast cancer cells was investigated using gain‐ and loss‐of‐function assays in vitro. Additionally, the potential early diagnosis and treatment monitoring marker of miR‐1260b was validated in 129 plasma samples. We found that high miR‐1260b expression was markedly associated with bulky tumor size, advanced stage, and lymph node invasion. Particularly, the high–miR‐1260b‐expression group showed shorter overall survival than the low–miR‐1260b‐expression group. The inhibition of oncogenic miR‐1260b induced apoptosis and decreased migration and invasion of MDA‐MB‐231 cells. CASP8 was revealed as a direct target gene of miR‐1260b, which is closely related to apoptosis. Furthermore, miR‐1260b expression levels in plasma were significantly higher in patients with breast cancer than in healthy controls. The patients who tested positive for miR‐1260b showed 16.3‐ and 18.2‐fold higher risks in the early stage and locally advanced stage, respectively, compared with healthy controls, and the risk was decreased 6.2‐fold after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Taken together, miR‐1260b may be a potential novel diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic target in breast cancer.