Expression of miR-18a in serum of patients with prostate cancer and its clinical significance

Abstract

Objective To investigate the expression and diagnostic value of microRNA-18a (miR-18a) in serum of patients with prostate cancer. Methods Real-time quantitative PCR(qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of serum miR-18a in 60 patients with prostate cancer(PCa), 30 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH) and 20 healthy controls(HC). The relationship between miR-18a expression level and Gleason grade, TNM stage and PSA of prostate cancer was analyzed. The sensitivity and specificity of miR-18a expression levels in the diagnosis of prostate cancer were determined by analyzing the receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve. Results The expression levels of serum miR-18a in PCa patients were significantly higher than those in BPH group and HC group(P<0.01). miR-18a was associated with Gleason score and tumor stage in PCa patients(P<0.01). There was a positive correlation between miR-18a and PSA(r=0.701, P=0.000). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of miR-18a was 0.928 (95%CI: 0.880-0.976, P=0.000). The sensitivity was 84.3%, the specificity was 75.8%. Conclusions The expression level of miR-18a in serum of PCa patients is significantly increased, which has potential clinical reference value for the diagnosis of PCa. Key words: MicroRNAs; Prostatic Neoplasms; Serum