Magister Scientiae - MSc / Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in women worldwide, and is the
second most common cancer in the world, responsible for more than 500 000 deaths
annually. Estimates are that 1 in 8 women will develop BC in their lifetime. In South
Africa, BC in women affects about 16.6 % of the population and could see a 78 %
increase in cases by 2030. The failure of conventional diagnostic tools to detect BC
from an early onset has revealed the need for diagnostic tools that would enable early
diagnosis of BC. The current diagnostic tools include breast self-examination,
mammography magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasonography and serum biomarkers;
BRACA1, BRACA2, HER2. These conventional methods lack sensitivity, specificity
and positive predictive value, and some of these diagnostic tools may be expensive
and quite invasive. Therefore, novel diagnostic tools such as microRNAs which
address the short comings of current methods are required for early diagnosis as well
as BC management. MicroRNAs are a class of non-coding RNA molecules, which
are important in RNA stability and gene expression. Various methodologies have
been employed to identify novel microRNAs for diagnostics such as bioinformatics,
also referred to as in silico analysis. The aim of this study is to identify novel
microRNAs that can potentially detect BC at its earliest stage.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/5675 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Ferrara, Najua Ali |
| Contributors | Pretorius, Ashley |
| Publisher | University of the Western cape |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | University of the Western Cape |
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