An overview of the impact of blood-based DNA methylation signatures in breast cancer diagnosis

An overview of the impact of blood-based DNA methylation signatures in breast cancer diagnosis
Shadi Nazari Fard,¹ Hadis Rahimi,² Leila Abkhooie,^3,*
1. Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, School of Medicine, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran
3. 1-Razi Herbal Medicines Research Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, khorramabad, Iran
Introduction: Changes in DNA methylation patterns play a significant role in carcinogenesis, and sensitive epigenetic signatures principally controlled by DNA methylation, regulate the interaction between genetic and non-genetic risk factors through carcinogenesis. These alterations may be presented in blood DNA, which is a non-invasive method for breast tumor analysis. blood-DNA detection objects principally included circulating cancer DNA/cell-free DNA (ctDNA/cfDNA), circulating cancerous cells (CTCs), and exosomes. Researches gradually showed that methylation changes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) also can be responsible for the manifestation of cancers.
Methods: we searched articles by keywords such as: breast cancer, DNA methylation, immune and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in PubMed and Google Scholar. Then, related papers that coordinated such word criteria were precisely reviewed and their findings duly noted.
Results: The present study offers brief research on DNA methylation changes in breast cancer and describes the characteristics of blood-based DNA detection objects including: ctDNA/cfDNA, CTCs, exosomes, and PBMCs and their utilization in medical tests especially for early detection of breast cancer.
Conclusion: The use of blood-based DNA requires more studies to be able to use diagnostic kits with high sensitivity and specificity to detect this disease in the early stages.
Keywords: breast cancer, DNA methylation, circulating tumor cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC)