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Circulating miR-125b is a novel biomarker for screening non-small-cell lung cancer and predicts poor prognosis

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Abstract

Purpose

MicroRNAs are small, non-coding RNAs that are critical regulators of various diseases including cancer, and may represent a novel class of cancer biomarkers. Recent reports have highlighted the oncogenic aspects of miR-125b. However, the level and clinical relevance of circulating miR-125b transcripts in human serum of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients are unclear. The purpose of this study was to identify circulating miR-125b transcripts in human serum for use as a biomarker for stratification and prediction of prognosis in NSCLC.

Methods

We analyzed serum levels of miR-125b in 193 patients with different stages of NSCLC. Blood samples were collected before surgery and therapy. Quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction of circulating miR-125b transcripts was performed directly in serum to improve the efficiency of miRNA assessment. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of serum miR-125b.

Results

We found that serum miR-125b was consistently expressed in the non-tumor group and was significantly associated with NSCLC stage. miR-125b expression was capable of separating NSCLC patients from control groups with an area under the curve of 0.786. Furthermore, patients with high miR-125b expression displayed a significantly poorer prognosis compared with patients with low expression (p < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis indicated that high miR-125b expression was an independent prognostic factor for survival.

Conclusions

We propose that serum miR-125b may represent a novel biomarker in NSCLC patients and that high miR-125b expression is an independent prognostic factor for survival.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the respiratory physicians and pathologists for providing patient clinical information.

Conflict of interest

We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Respiration Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China

    Ma Yuxia, Tian Zhennan & Zhang Wei

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  1. Ma Yuxia
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  2. Tian Zhennan
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  3. Zhang Wei
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhang Wei.

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Yuxia, M., Zhennan, T. & Wei, Z. Circulating miR-125b is a novel biomarker for screening non-small-cell lung cancer and predicts poor prognosis. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 138, 2045–2050 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-012-1285-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-012-1285-0

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