miRNAs Associated with Axillary Lymph Node Metastasis in Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Some microRNAs (miRNAs) may have potential as biomarkers for axillary lymph node metastasis (ALNM) in breast cancer.

Methods: PubMed was systematically searched from its inception to October 2023 using the search term 'miRNA and breast cancer lymph node metastasis' to identify miRNAs reported in three or more relevant publications. Each qualifying miRNA was then paired with 'breast cancer' as search terms across four databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library) covering the same time span. Studies investigating miRNA associations with ALNM in breast cancer were included and the evaluation indicators (odds ratio [OR]) or standardized mean difference [SMD]) were calculated.

Results: Nine miRNAs were frequently reported to be associated with breast cancer ALNM: miR-206, miR-21, miR-155, miR-124, miR-10b, miR-30a, miR-200c, miR-4521, and miR-101. Patients with high expression of miR-155 (OR 3.41 [1.92-6.06]) or low expression of miR-200c (OR 0.36 [0.17-0.77]) were more likely to experience ALNM. Compared with patients without lymph node metastasis, patients with positive ALNM had elevated expression levels of miR-21 (SMD 1.39 [0.66-2.13]), miR-155 (SMD 0.91 [0.17-1.65]), and miR-10b (SMD 0.63 [0.02-1.23]), and decreased expression levels of miR-200c (SMD - 0.44 [- 0.84 to - 0.05]) and miR-124 (SMD - 2.29 [- 3.93 to - 0.65]).

Conclusion: High expression of miRNA-155, miRNA-21, and miRNA-10b, and low expression of miRNA-200c and miRNA-124, were significantly correlated with ALNM in breast cancer patients. miRNAs are expected to become biomarkers for predicting ALNM in breast cancer patients, although more clinical trials are needed for validation.