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
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 microRNAs (miRNA) expression in the progression from HBV infection to hepatoma.
In this study, TaqMan Low Density Array and real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction were used to characterize the profile of miRNAs in chronic hepatitis B, HCC and normal control tissues.
This study aimed to explore the role of miRNAs in the progression of HBV infection to cirrhosis and even to liver cancer.
The authors screened differentially expressed miRNAs in 40 HBV cirrhosis, 40 normal and 15 HCC tissues. Authors calculated the area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curves.
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. The area under the curves of the receiver-operating-characteristic curve for the 4-miRNA panel was 0.991. 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 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.