Decreased miR-503 expression in gastric cancer is inversely correlated with serum carcinoembryonic antigen and acts as a potential prognostic and diagnostic biomarker

Cell-free Nucleic Acid as Promising Diagnostic Biomarkers for Gastric Cancer: a Systematic Review

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is a common malignancy with early detection being crucial for survival. Liquid biopsy analysis using cell-free nucleic acid is a preferred method for detection. Hence, we conducted a systematic review to assess the diagnostic efficacy of cell-free nucleic acid markers for GC. Methods: We searched PubMed and ISI Web of Science databases for articles that conformed to our inclusion and exclusion criteria from 2012 to 2022. The following information was abstracted: first author, year of publication, country/region, age, male proportion, tumor stage for cases, specimen type, measurement method, targeted markers and diagnostic related indicators (including sensitivity, specificity, AUC, P-value). Results: Fifty-eight studies examined cell-free RNAs (cfRNAs) with a total of 62 individual circulating markers and 7 panels in serum or plasma, while 21 studies evaluated cell-free DNAs (cfDNAs) with 29 individual circulating markers and 7 panels. For individual cfRNAs, the median (range) sensitivity and specificity were 80% (21% - 98%) and 80% (54% - 99%), respectively. The median (range) sensitivity and specificity for cfRNA panels were 86% (83% - 90%) and 75% (60% - 98%), respectively. In comparison, the median (range) sensitivity and specificity reported for individual cfDNAs were 50% (18% - 96%) and 93% (57% - 100%), respectively, while cfDNA panels had a median (range) sensitivity and specificity of 85% (41% - 92%) and 73.5% (38% - 90%), respectively. The meta results indicate that cfRNA markers exhibit high sensitivity (80%) and low specificity (80%) for detecting GC, while cfDNA markers have lower sensitivity (59%) but higher specificity (92%). Conclusions: This review has demonstrated that cell-free nucleic acids have the potential to serve as useful diagnostic markers for GC. Given that both cfRNA and cfDNA markers have shown promising diagnostic performance for GC, the combination of the two may potentially enhance diagnostic efficiency.

HMGA2 regulation by miRNAs in cancer: affecting cancer hallmarks and therapy response

High mobility group A 2 (HMGA2) is a protein that modulates the structure of chromatin in the nucleus. Importantly, aberrant expression of HMGA2 occurs during carcinogenesis, and this protein is an upstream mediator of cancer hallmarks including evasion of apoptosis, proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and therapy resistance. HMGA2 targets critical signaling pathways such as Wnt/β-catenin and mTOR in cancer cells. Therefore, suppression of HMGA2 function notably decreases cancer progression and improves outcome in patients. As HMGA2 is mainly oncogenic, targeting expression by non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) is crucial to take into consideration since it affects HMGA2 function. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) belong to ncRNAs and are master regulators of vital cell processes, which affect all aspects of cancer hallmarks. Long ncRNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs), other members of ncRNAs, are upstream mediators of miRNAs. The current review intends to discuss the importance of the miRNA/HMGA2 axis in modulation of various types of cancer, and mentions lncRNAs and circRNAs, which regulate this axis as upstream mediators. Finally, we discuss the effect of miRNAs and HMGA2 interactions on the response of cancer cells to therapy. Regarding the critical role of HMGA2 in regulation of critical signaling pathways in cancer cells, and considering the confirmed interaction between HMGA2 and one of the master regulators of cancer, miRNAs, targeting miRNA/HMGA2 axis in cancer therapy is promising and this could be the subject of future clinical trial experiments.

Improved overall survival is associated with adjuvant chemotherapy after definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy for N3 nasopharyngeal cancer

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy is the established treatment for locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, there is no evidence supporting routine adjuvant chemotherapy. We aimed to demonstrate the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy on survival and distant metastasis in high-risk N3 NPC patients. We linked the Taiwan Cancer Registry and Cause of Death database to obtain data. Clinical N3 NPC patients were divided as those receiving definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with adjuvant 5-fluorouracil and platinum (PF) chemotherapy and those receiving no chemotherapy after CCRT. Patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy were excluded. We compared overall survival, disease-free survival, local control, and distant metastasis in both groups using Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Propensity-score matching was also performed to evaluate the independent effect of adjuvant PF in a matched cohort with similar baseline characteristics. We included 431 patients (152 and 279 patients in the adjuvant PF and observation groups, respectively). Median follow-up was 4.3 years. The 5-year overall survival were 69.1% and 57.4% in the adjuvant PF chemotherapy and observation groups, respectively (p = 0.02). Adjuvant PF chemotherapy was associated with a lower risk of death (hazard ratio [HR] 0.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.43–0.84; p = 0.003), even after adjusting for baseline prognostic factors (HR 0.61, 95% CI 0.43–0.86; p = 0.005). Distant metastasis-free survival at 12 months was higher in the adjuvant PF chemotherapy group than in the observation group (98% vs 84.8%; p < 0.001). After adjusting for baseline prognostic factors, adjuvant PF chemotherapy was associated with freedom from distant metastasis (HR 0.11, 95% CI 0.02–0.46; p = 0.003). Adjuvant chemotherapy was also associated with a decreased risk of death (HR 0.59, 95% CI 0.41–0.85, p = 0.004) in a propensity score-matched cohort. Prospective evaluation of adjuvant PF chemotherapy in N3 NPC patients treated with definitive CCRT is warranted because adjuvant PF chemotherapy was associated with improved overall survival and decreased risk of distant metastasis.

MiR-503 suppresses fibroblast activation and myofibroblast differentiation by targeting VEGFA and FGFR1 in silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis

Inhalation and deposition of crystalline silica particles in the lung can cause pulmonary fibrosis, then leading to silicosis. Given the paucity of effective drugs for silicosis, new insights for understanding the mechanisms of silicosis, including lung fibroblast activation and myofibroblast differentiation, are essential to explore therapeutic strategies. Our previous research showed that the up-regulation of miR-503 alleviated silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice. In this study, we investigated whether miR-503 can regulate the TGF-β1-induced effects in lung fibroblasts. Mimic-based strategies aiming at up-regulating miR-503 were used to discuss the function of miR-503 in vivo and in vitro. We found that the expression level of miR-503 was decreased in fibroblasts stimulated by TGF-β1, and the up-regulation of miR-503 reduced the release of fibrotic factors and inhibited the migration and invasion abilities of fibroblasts. Combined with the up-regulation of miR-503 in a mouse model of silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis, we revealed that miR-503 mitigated the TGF-β1-induced effects in fibroblasts by regulating VEGFA and FGFR1 and then affecting the MAPK/ERK signalling pathway. In conclusion, miR-503 exerted protective roles in silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis and may represent a novel and potent candidate for therapeutic strategies in silicosis.

MicroRNA-503-5p improves carotid artery stenosis by inhibiting the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells

Carotid artery stenosis (CAS) is a common arteriosclerotic vascular disease affected by vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression and diagnostic value of microRNA (miR)-503-5p in asymptomatic patients with CAS and to further explore the effect of miR-503-5p on VSMC proliferation. The levels of miR-503-5p in the serum of 62 asymptomatic patients with CAS and 60 healthy controls were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. The association between miR-503-5p and the clinical characteristics of the patients was analyzed using the χ² test. A receiver operating characteristic curve was drawn to evaluate the diagnostic value of miR-503-5p to distinguish asymptomatic patients with CAS from healthy controls. Finally, miR-503-5p inhibitors and mimics were transfected into VSMCs in vitro to detect the effect of miR-503-5p on the proliferation ability through Cell Counting Kit-8 assays. The serum levels of miR-503-5p in asymptomatic patients with CAS were significantly reduced as compared with those in healthy individuals. The expression levels of miR-503-5p were significantly associated with diabetes and arterial stenosis. Furthermore, the area under the ROC curve was 0.817, the specificity was 79.03% and the sensitivity was 83.30%, which proved that miR-503-5p had a high diagnostic accuracy in patients with CAS. Finally, the in vitro proliferation assay indicated that overexpression of miR-503-5p significantly inhibited the proliferation of VSMCs. In conclusion, miR-503-5p is a potential diagnostic biomarker for asymptomatic CAS and overexpression of miR-503-5p may inhibit the proliferation of VSMCs and improve CAS.

The significance of preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen levels in the prediction of lymph node metastasis and prognosis in locally advanced gastric cancer: a retrospective analysis

Background

In this study, we aimed to investigate the preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in the diagnosis of positive lymph node metastasis (LNM), and to evaluated the relationship between CEA and survival in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC).

Methods

The significance of the preoperative serum CEA level for the diagnose of LAGC and prediction of LNM was determined using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The areas under the ROC of CEA were compared with those of other tumor markers or imaging examination including CT and MRI. Logistic regression was utilized to identify the risk factors predicting positive LNM. Independent prognosis factors were evaluated using univariate and multivariate COX regression analyses.

Results

The ROC curves showed that the AUCs of CEA, CA199, and CA125 for diagnosing LAGC were 0.727, 0.594, and 0.566. When used to predict LNM, the AUC of CEA, CA199 and CA125 were 0.696, 0.531, and 0.588. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that preoperative serum CEA were significantly associated with positive LNM. On combining imaging examination with CEA, the sensitivity and specificity were 85.3 and 79.4%, respectively, with the AUC equal to 0.853. The combination of CEA and imaging examination preformed the highest levels of AUC and sensitivity for diagnosing LNM, which is significantly higher than using either of them alone. Although patients with abnormal CEA have a poor prognosis, two models of multivariate analysis showed that CEA was not the independent prognosis factor for survival.

Conclusions

CEA can be used to diagnose gastric cancer and determine whether it has LNM. Moreover, combined with CEA could improve the diagnostic sensitivity of imaging examination for lymph node involvement.

Serum miR-551b-3p is a potential diagnostic biomarker for gastric cancer

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most common gastrointestinal malignancies. Many studies have demonstrated that serum microRNAs have potential applications as non-invasive biomarkers for cancer diagnosis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of serum miR-551b-3p in patients with GC and to explore its potential as a diagnostic biomarker in GC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The expression of miR-551b-3p was detected using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in preoperative serum samples of 50 patients with GC and 53 healthy individuals. An analysis was performed to determine the correlation between serum miR-551b-3p levels and clinicopathological characteristics of patients with GC. The receiver operating characteristic curve was generated, and the cut-off point of serum miR-551b-3p for the diagnosis of GC was selected. The clinical value of serum miR-551b-3p for GC was analyzed by a consistency test.

RESULTS

The expression of serum miR-551b-3p was significantly lower in patients with GC than in healthy individuals (p=0.000). Low level was positively associated with tumor size (p=0.014), depth of invasion (p=0.001), and Tumor-Node-Metastasis stage (p=0.022). The area under the curve for serum miR-551b-3p distinguishing patients with GC from healthy individuals was 0.860 (95% CI: 0.787-0.933, p=0.000), with a specificity of 96.2% and a sensitivity of 70%. The kappa consistency test had a kappa value of 0.667 (p=0.000) in GC.

CONCLUSION

Serum miR-551b-3p may potentially serve as a diagnostic biomarker for GC.

IGF2-AS affects the prognosis and metastasis of gastric adenocarcinoma via acting as a ceRNA of miR-503 to regulate SHOX2

Disorder of long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) is found in various types of cancers and demonstrated to be associated with tumor occurrence and development. Our study found that lncRNA insulin growth factor 2 antisense (IGF2-AS) is up-regulated in gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC) tissues and correlated with poor prognosis in patients with GAC. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK8), colony formation, wound healing and transwell assays revealed that knockdown of IGF2-AS in BGC823 and SGC7901 cells significantly suppressed cell proliferation, migration and invasion. While, overexpression of IGF2-AS in AGS and MGC803 cells exhibited the opposite effects. RNA-FISH and subcellular fractionation assay found that most IGF2-AS was distributed in the cytoplasm, suggesting that IGF2-AS functioned as a potential ceRNA. RNA binding protein immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays further confirmed this assumption. By informatics prediction and luciferase reporter assay, we found that IGF2-AS functioned as an efficient miR-503 sponge and the level of miR-503 showed an inverse correlation with IGF2-AS. Short stature homeobox 2 (SHOX2) is predicted and verified as a target of miR-503. Moreover, IGF2-AS expression exhibited a negative correlation with miR-503 and a positive correlation with IGF2-AS. Subsequent rescue assay revealed that down-regulation of miR-503 or restoration of SHOX2 canceled IGF2-AS depletion-induced depression in proliferation and motility of BGC823 and SGC7901 cells. Meanwhile, up-regulation of miR-503 or down-regulation of SHOX2 decreased IGF2-AS overexpression induced promotion in proliferation and motility of AGS and MGC803 cells. In vivo tumorigenicity assay showed that knockdown of IGF2-AS significantly reduced tumor volume. Taken together, our results demonstrated that IGF2-AS takes important regulatory parts in GAC development by functioning as a ceRNA to regulate SHOX2 via sponging miR-503.

MiR-503 suppresses cell proliferation and invasion of gastric cancer by targeting HMGA2 and inactivating WNT signaling pathway

Background

Abnormal expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) is related to human carcinogenesis. Although previous studies have shown that miR-503 expression in gastric cancer (GC) is downregulated, however, the underlying molecular mechanism for miR-503 involved in gastric cancer development is still largely unknown.

Methods

The relative expression of miR-503 in GC tissues and adjacent normal tissues was examined using quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analyses. In vitro, cell proliferation and invasion were evaluated by using CCK8, cell colony and transwell invasion assays. In vivo, xenograft tumor model was constructed to assess miR-503 expression whether affects tumor growth or not. Luciferase reporter assay, qRT-PCR and western blot assay were used to demonstrate HMGA2 is a target of miR-503.

Results

We demonstrated that miR-503 expression was significantly downregulated in GC tissues and cell lines compared to adjacent normal tissues and normal gastric mucosa cell lines, respectively. Lower miR-503 expression associated with tumor size, lymph node metastasis, and predicted a poor overall survival (OS) time in GC patients. Subsequently, in vitro, gain-function and loss-function assays confirmed that miR-503 overexpression significantly suppressed GC cell proliferation, colony formation and cell invasion, while decreased miR-503 expression had an adverse effect in GC cells. Furthermore, we found that miR-503 specifically targeted the 3′-UTR regions of HMGA2 mRNA and suppressed its protein expression. Overexpression of HMGA2 could reverse the miR-503 mediated inhibition of GC cell proliferation and invasion. In vivo, miR-503 overexpression dramatically reduced tumor growth. Moreover, we demonstrated that miR-503 suppressed WNT/β-catenin signaling by elevating GSK-3β and p-β-catenin expression, but decreased p-GSK-3β and β-catenin expression in GC cells.

Conclusion

These results provide that miR-503 expression acts as a predictor for GC prognosis and may have a potential application in GC therapy.

Ubenimex Reverses MDR in Gastric Cancer Cells by Activating Caspase-3-Mediated Apoptosis and Suppressing the Expression of Membrane Transport Proteins

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most malignant tumors, accounting for 10% of deaths caused by all cancers. Chemotherapy is often necessary for treatment of GC; the FOLFOX regimen is extensively applied. However, multidrug resistance (MDR) of GC cells prevents wider application of this treatment. Ubenimex, an inhibitor of CD13, is used as an immune adjuvant to treat hematological malignancies. Here, we demonstrate that CD13 expression positively correlates with MDR development in GC cells. Moreover, Ubenimex reverses the MDR of SGC7901/X and MKN45/X cells and enhances their sensitivity to FOLFOX, in part by decreasing CD13 expression, which is accompanied by downregulation of Bcl-xl, Bcl-2, and survivin expression; increased expression of Bax; and activation of the caspase-3-mediated apoptotic cascade. In addition, Ubenimex downregulates expression of membrane transport proteins, such as P-gp and MRP1, by inhibiting phosphorylation in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway to increase intracellular accumulations of 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin, a process for which downregulation of CD13 expression is essential. Therefore, the present results reveal a previously uncharacterized function of CD13 in promoting MDR development in GC cells and suggest that Ubenimex is a candidate for reversing the MDR of GC cells.

MicroRNA-503-5p Inhibits the CD97-Mediated JAK2/STAT3 Pathway in Metastatic or Paclitaxel-Resistant Ovarian Cancer Cells

CD97 shows a strong relationship with metastasis and poor clinical outcome in various tumors, including ovarian cancer. The expression of CD97 in metastatic ovarian cancer cells was higher than that in primary ovarian cancer cells. Mature miRNAs are frequently de-regulated in cancer and incorporated into a specific mRNA, leading to post-transcriptional silencing. In this study, we investigated whether the miR-503-5p targeting of the CD97 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) contributes to ovarian cancer metastasis as well as the underlying mechanism regulating cancer progression. In LPS-stimulated or paclitaxel-resistant ovarian cancer cells, stimulation with recombinant human CD55 (rhCD55) of CD97 in ovarian cancer cells activated NF-κB-dependent miR-503-5p down-regulation and the JAK2/STAT3 pathway, consequently promoting the migratory and invasive capacity. Furthermore, restoration of miR-503-5p by transfection with mimics or NF-κB inhibitor efficiently blocked CD97 expression and the downstream JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. Target inhibition of JAK with siRNA also impaired colony formation and metastasis of LPS-stimulated and paclitaxel-resistant ovarian cancer cells. Taken together, these results suggest that high CD97 expression, which is controlled through the NF-κB/miR-503-5p signaling pathway, plays an important role in the invasive activity of metastatic and drug-resistant ovarian cancer cells by activating the JAK2/STAT3 pathway.

The diagnostic value of circulating microRNAs as a biomarker for gastric cancer: A meta‑analysis

Recently, cancer research microRNA studies have drawn great attention. However, the results of these studies have been inconsistent and variable regarding the availability of circulating miRNAs in gastric cancer (GC) diagnosis. Thus, results should be interpreted cautiously. The purpose of the present study was to assess the diagnostic performance of circulating miRNAs in GC diagnosis. We conducted a systematic and comprehensive approach for the inclusion of studies. The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio were pooled with random effects models, and a summary of receiver operator characteristic (SROC) curves were plotted. The potential heterogeneity was assessed with Q test and I2 statistics. Subgroup analyses and meta‑regressions further investigated the sources of heterogeneity. A total of 77 studies from 48 articles were eligible for the meta‑analysis. The results revealed a sensitivity of 0.76, a specificity of 0.81, and an AUC of 0.86 for gastric cancer diagnosis with circulating miRNAs. In addition, subgroup analyses indicated that multiple miRNAs assays, non‑microarray screening approaches, and serum‑based miRNA assays exhibited good diagnostic performance in contrast to a single miRNA assay, microarray expression profiling screening, and plasma‑based miRNA group analysis. The diagnostic ability of miRNAs in early stage I‑II groups and the high expression group were approximately similar to that in the stage I‑IV groups and the low expression group. For the circulating miRNAs, our meta‑analysis identified a combination of multiple miRNAs, non‑microarray chip screening, and serum‑based miRNA assays were associated with the most effective GC diagnostic performance. However, many unclear molecular mechanisms limited the accuracy of the diagnostic results, and should be interpreted with caution. Further large‑scale prospective studies are required for validating the diagnostic applicability of circulating miRNAs in gastric cancer patients.

Review of recent efforts to discover biomarkers for early detection, monitoring, prognosis, and prediction of treatment responses of patients with gastric cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Despite recent advances in diagnosis and therapy, the prognosis of patients with GC is poor. Many patients have inoperable disease upon diagnosis or experience recurrent disease after curative gastrectomy. Unfortunately, tumor markers for GC, such as serum carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen 19-9, lack sufficient sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, effective biomarkers are required to detect early GC and to predict tumor recurrence and chemosensitivity. Areas covered: Here we aimed to review recent developments in techniques that improve the detection of aberrant expression of GC-associated molecules, including protein coding genes, microRNAs, long noncoding RNAs, and methylated promoter DNAs. Expert commentary: Detection of genetic and epigenetic alterations in gastric tissue or in the circulation will likely improve the diagnosis and management of GC to achieve significantly improved outcomes.

miR-503 suppresses the proliferation and metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by triggering autophagy via PKA/mTOR signaling

MicroRNA (miR)-503 is involved in the regulation of the malignant phenotype in multiple tumor types, and has been proven to be a novel diagnostic and therapeutic target; however, its function and mechanisms of action have not yet been fully elucidated in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). In the current study, we detected miR‑503 expression by RT‑qPCR and found that miR‑503 expression was increased in ESCC, but negatively correlated with lymph node metastasis, TNM stage and tumor differentiation. Functionally, we confirmed that miR‑503 inhibited the proliferation and metastasis of ESCC cells by triggering cellular autophagy. Mechanistically, we confirmed that miR‑503 exerted its biological effects by targeting protein kinase CAMP‑activated catalytic subunit alpha (PRKACA) in ESCC by dual luciferase reporter assay. Moreover, miR‑503 was found to trigger autophagy in ESCC cells through the protein kinase A (PKA)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. Taken together, our results demonstrate that miR‑503 suppresses the proliferation and metastasis of ESCC via the activation of autophagy, mediated by the PKA/mTOR signaling pathway.

Increased miR-25 expression in serum of gastric cancer patients is correlated with CA19-9 and acts as a potential diagnostic biomarker

Objective

To evaluate miR-25 expression in serum of gastric cancer (GC) patients and whether it can be a potential biomarker for GC diagnosis.

Methods

Forty one pathology confirmed GC patients and 41 healthy controls were included in this study. 10 mL peripheral venous blood were collected from GC patients and healthy controls. miR-25 relative expression and CA19-9 level in serum of GC patients and healthy controls were measured by real-time reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of serum miR-25 and CA19-9 were calculated by STATA11.0 software.

Results

The relative expression of miR-25 was 0.47±0.53 and 0.05±0.36 in serum of GC patients and healthy controls respectively with significant statistical difference (P<0.05). The serum level of CA19-9 for GC patients and healthy controls were 11.91±6.17 U/mL and 7.40±3.97 U/mL, indicating GC patients were much higher than those of healthy controls (P<0.05). The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 78.05% and 60.98% with the cut-off value of 0.32 for serum miR-25. Under this cut-off value, the area under the ROC curve was 0.75. For serum CA19-9, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 70.73% and 56.10% with the cut-off value of 9.22 U/mL. Under this cut-off value, the area under the ROC curve was 0.73 with the 95% confidence interval of 0.62-0.84. Positive correlation was found between serum miR-25 relative expression and CA19-9 concentration of GC patients (r=0.75, P<0.05).

Conclusion

According to our present study, serum miR-25 was elevated in GC patients which may serve as a diagnostic biomarker for GC.

Prognostic value of microRNAs in gastric cancer: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Previous articles have reported that expression levels of microRNAs (miRNAs) are associated with survival time of patients with gastric cancer (GC). A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to study the outcome of it.

DESIGN

Meta-analysis.

METHODS

English studies estimating expression levels of miRNAs with any of survival curves in GC were identified up till March 19, 2017 through performing online searches in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews by two authors independently. The pooled hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to estimate the correlation between miRNA expression and overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

Sixty-nine relevant articles about 26 miRNAs with 6148 patients were ultimately included. GC patients with high expression of miR-20b (HR=2.38, 95%CI=1.16-4.87), 21 (HR=1.77, 95%CI=1.01-3.08), 106b (HR=1.84, 95%CI=1.15-2.94), 196a (HR=2.66, 95%CI=1.94-3.63), 196b (HR=1.67, 95%CI=1.38-2.02), 214 (HR=1.84, 95%CI=1.27-2.67) or low expression of miR-125a (HR=2.06, 95%CI=1.26-3.37), 137 (HR=3.21, 95%CI=1.68-6.13), 141 (HR=2.47, 95%CI=1.34-4.56), 145 (HR=1.62, 95%CI=1.07-2.46), 146a (HR=2.60, 95%CI=1.63-4.13), 206 (HR=2.85, 95%CI=1.73-4.70), 218 (HR=2.61, 95%CI=1.74-3.92), 451 (HR=1.73, 95%CI=1.19-2.52), 486-5p (HR=2.45, 95%CI=1.65-3.65), 506 (HR=2.07, 95%CI=1.33-3.23) have significantly poor OS (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, miR-20b, 21, 106b, 125a, 137, 141, 145, 146a, 196a, 196b, 206, 214, 218, 451, 486-5p and 506 demonstrate significantly prognostic value. Among them, miR-20b, 125a, 137, 141, 146a, 196a, 206, 218, 486-5p and 506 are strong biomarkers of prognosis in GC.

Plasma microRNA-9 as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Purpose Emerging evidence indicates that circulating microRNAs (miRs) might act as noninvasive biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. We examined the expression pattern and clinical significance of plasma miR-9 in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods Venous blood samples (6 mL) were collected from 131 patients with ESCC and 131 healthy controls, and the plasma miR-9 concentration was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The association of plasma miR-9 expression with clinicopathologic factors and survival of patients with ESCC was evaluated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to evaluate the clinical value of plasma miR-9 for ESCC diagnosis. Results The plasma miR-9 expression levels in patients with ESCC were significantly upregulated compared with normal controls. High plasma miR-9 concentrations were significantly correlated with poor tumor differentiation, large tumor size, deep local invasion, lymph node metastasis, advanced clinical stage, and poor survival. ROC curve analysis showed that the plasma miR-9 concentration could efficiently distinguish patients with ESCC from healthy controls. Multivariate survival analysis confirmed plasma miR-9 as an independent prognostic factor for ESCC. Conclusions Plasma miR-9 expression was upregulated in ESCC and might act as a novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarker.

Plasma miR-145 as a novel biomarker for the diagnosis and radiosensitivity prediction of human cervical cancer

Objectives The objective of this study was to evaluate levels of plasma miR-145 in patients with cervical cancer (CC) and investigate its biomarker potential. Methods Using qRT-PCR, we compared plasma miR-145 levels in 120 patients with CC, 120 patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), and 120 healthy volunteers. The association between plasma miR-145 expression and clinicopathological factors, including radiation response, was also analyzed. Results Plasma miR-145 levels were lower in CC patient than in CIN patients and healthy controls. Low levels were significantly associated with poor cancer differentiation, lymph node metastasis, HPV, and advanced FIGO stage. CC patients who achieved complete response to radiotherapy had higher plasma miR-145 levels than incomplete responders. ROC analysis confirmed that plasma miR-145 is a candidate biomarker for detecting CC and differentiating complete responders from incomplete responders. Conclusions Plasma miR-145 is reduced in CC and is a novel candidate biomarker for diagnosing CC and predicting radiosensitivity.