Reduced expression of AURKA in peripheral blood of breast cancer patients

AURKA, CENPW, and TIMP1 are reported to be genes involved in the regulation of the cell cycle and are highly associated with various cancers, including breast cancer (BC). These genes appear to be overexpressed in cancerous tissues, but unknown in peripheral blood. This study uses quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) to assess the differential expression of AURKA, CENPW, and TIMP1 genes in the peripheral blood of BC patients and correlates expression levels with clinicopathological characteristics and etiological factors. We found that AURKA expression was significantly reduced in BC patients, as well as: 1) those without any family cancer history, 2) nonsmokers, and 3) those who engage in frequent consumption of red meat in the peripheral blood. However, all three genes in this study were not significantly correlated with clinicopathological characteristics of BC. Our study reveals that the expression of AURKA is significantly downregulated in the peripheral blood of BC patients.