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Plasma miR-187* is a potential biomarker for oral carcinoma

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Clinical Oral Investigations Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is prevalent worldwide, and survival in OSCC has not improved significantly in the past decades. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have an important regulatory role in oral carcinogenesis. This study investigated the functional and clinical implications of miR-187* in OSCC pathogenesis.

Materials and methods

Expression of miR-187* in OSCC tissues and patient plasma was assayed using quantitative RT-PCR. The diagnostic power was specified using receiver operator curve analysis. The phenotypic influence of miR-187* in OSCC cells was delineated using exogenous expression.

Results

miR-187* was upregulated in OSCC tissue relative to control mucosa. Overexpression of miR-187* enhanced the oncogenic phenotype of OSCC cells, including cell migration and anchorage-independent colony formation. Plasma miR-187* levels could be used to distinguish patients from controls with a separating power of 0.73. Patients showing a reduction in plasma miR-187* after tumor resection had a better prognosis.

Conclusion

miR-187* plays oncogenic roles in oral carcinogenesis. Plasma miR-187* could be validated as a marker of OSCC for diagnostic uses.

Clinical relevance

This research implied that plasma miR-187* was a diagnostic marker for patients with OSCC, and plasma miR-187* level could be a prognostic factor for OSCC patients who received ablation surgery.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chung-Ji Liu, Jiun-Sheng Lin & Chieh-Yuan Cheng

  2. MacKay Medical College, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chung-Ji Liu

  3. Department of Medical Research, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chung-Ji Liu & Hui-Wen Cheng

  4. Department of Stomatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan

    Shu-Chun Lin

  5. Institute of Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, National Yang-Ming University, No. 155, Li-Nong St., Sec.2, Taipei, Taiwan, 112

    Chung-Ji Liu, Ya-Hui Hsu & Shu-Chun Lin

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  1. Chung-Ji Liu
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Correspondence to Shu-Chun Lin.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding

The work was supported by the MMH-E-104-12 from MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, and 101-2314-B-010-050-MY3 and 102-2314-B-195-007-MY3 from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Cite this article

Liu, CJ., Lin, JS., Cheng, HW. et al. Plasma miR-187* is a potential biomarker for oral carcinoma. Clin Oral Invest 21, 1131–1138 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-016-1887-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00784-016-1887-z

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