Circulating MicroRNA-21 Is a Potential Diagnostic Biomarker in Gastric Cancer.

Jianhong Wu,Rui Chen,Zeyou Wang,Yongliang Yao,Jianjun Wang,Guangxin Li,Xiongyong Pu

doi:10.1155/2015/435656

Jianhong Wu, Rui Chen + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/435656

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Abstract

MicroRNA-21 was upexpressed in gastric cancer (GC) indicating that it is a potential diagnostic biomarker for GC. In this study, 50 GC patients and 50 healthy controls were recruited. miR-21 levels in serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were quantified using quantitative real-time PCR. CA199, and CEA were measured using electrochemiluminescence assay. The sensitivity and specificity of circulating miR-21, CA199 and CEA in GC diagnosis, the correlation of circulating miR-21 to clinicopathological features, and the diagnostic value of miR-21 in different GC stages were determined. The levels of miR-21 in both serum and PBMCs increased significantly in GC patients comparing to healthy controls; however, no correlation was observed between circulating miR-21 level and clinicopathological features. The sensitivity and specificity of miR-21 in serum and PBMCs, and CA199 and CEA in GC diagnosis were 88.4%, 79.6%, 81.3%, 73.4%, 60.5%, 55.9%, and 68.6%, 59.3%, respectively. The positive prediction rates of circulating miR-21 in GC stages I to IV were all around 90%, while those of CA199 and CEA were around or less than 50%. Our data suggest circulating miR-21 (both in serum and in PBMCs) can serve as a good biomarker for GC and could be used in diagnosis of early (stage I) and late GC (stage IV).

Highlights

MicroRNAs, small single-strand RNA molecules with 18–25 nucleotides in length, possess the ability to modulate gene expression at posttranscription level [1, 2]
By recruiting 50 gastric cancer (GC) patients and 50 healthy controls, we systematically evaluated the potential of circulating miR-21 as a screening GC marker in comparison to conventional cancer markers Cancer antigen 199 (CA199) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)
Both Serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) miR-21 Levels Were Significantly Elevated in GC Patients in comparison to Healthy Controls

Summary

Introduction

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small single-strand RNA molecules with 18–25 nucleotides in length, possess the ability to modulate gene expression at posttranscription level [1, 2]. Extensive research has revealed that miRNAs are involved in multiple biological processes including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis as well as development [3]. Among these identified miRNAs, many of them have demonstrated modulation in initiation and progression of various types of cancers [4,5,6,7]. Clinical research has revealed that the expression of miR-21 is elevated in a wide range of cancers including brain, breast, cervix, lung, liver, prostate, pancreas, and colon [15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22]. High level of miR-21 indicates poor therapeutic outcome and survival [24], whereas in lung cancer, serum miR-21 is diagnostic indicator with moderate sensitivity and specificity [25]

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