Published online Apr 15, 2020. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v12.i4.383
Peer-review started: December 22, 2019
First decision: January 19, 2020
Revised: February 6, 2020
Accepted: March 23, 2020
Article in press: March 23, 2020
Published online: April 15, 2020
In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), abnormal expression of multiple microRNAs (miRNAs) has been shown to be involved in the malignant biological behavior of liver cancer. The vast majority of liver cancer cases in China are closely related to hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, but there are few studies on the changes of miRNA expression in the progression from HBV infection to hepatoma.
To explore the role of miRNAs in the progression of HBV infection to cirrhosis and even to liver cancer.
We screened differentially expressed miRNAs in 40 HBV cirrhosis, 40 normal and 15 HCC tissues by using a TaqMan Low Density Array and real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. To evaluate the power of the selected miRNAs to predict disease, we calculated the area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curves. The overall survival of HBV cirrhosis patients was analyzed via Kaplan-Meier analysis.
The levels of miR-375, miR-122 and miR-143 were significantly lower in HBV cirrhosis tissues, while miR-224 was significantly higher than in the controls (P < 0.0001). The area under the curves of the receiver-operating-characteristic curve for the 4-miRNA panel was 0.991 (95%CI: 0.974-1). Patients with a lower expression level of miR-224 or higher expression levels of miR-375, miR-122 and miR-143 had longer overall survival.
The four miRNAs (miR-375, miR-122, miR-143 and miR-224) may be helpful for early diagnosis of HBV infection, HBV cirrhosis, and prediction of its overall survival.
Core tip: Abnormal expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) may lead to an abnormal physiological state and disease, such as, kinds of cancers. We detect the levels of miR-375, miR-122, miR-143 and miR-224. By combination of the miRNA panels, the area under the curves of the receiver-operating-characteristic curve was 0.991. In addition, the four miRNAs (miR-375, miR-122, miR-143 and miR-224) may be helpful for early detection and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.