MicroRNA Expression Changes in Women with Breast Cancer Stratified by DNA Repair Capacity Levels
Figure 3
Comparison of relative microRNA expression between breast cancer cases and controls stratified by DRC. Groups were stratified into low (<3.8%) and high (≥3.8%) DRC based on a previously established cut-off. BC cases with low (n-=15) and high (n=14) DRC along with controls with low (n=18) and high (n=9) DRC levels were included in all panels. MicroRNAs were divided into 12 panels depending on their relative expression ranges. (a, b) miRNAs with extremely high relative expression were reported using a logarithmic scale. (c-l) miRNAs with a relative expression range 0-4. Each panel shows the miRNA relative expression distribution after normalization using the mammalian U6 endogenous control. Box plots represent the data distribution of 26 breast cancer cases and 27 controls. The point within the empty square represents the mean miRNA expression. DRC stratifications are represented by colors as can be seen in the legend (top). All miRNAs presented were differentially expressed among groups when mean comparisons were performed using KW test (p<0.05) followed by Dunn’s multiple comparisons post hoc test (Table 3).