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Circulating microRNA-301 as a promising diagnostic biomarker of hepatitis C virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma

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Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a serious consequence of persistent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and represents one of the most aggressive neoplasms globally. The implication of microRNA-301 (miR-301) in the initiation and progression of different types of cancers has been proved. We aimed to assess circulating microRNA-301 as possible biomarker for the early detection of HCC in patients with chronic HCV infection. miR-301 expression levels were estimated in plasma samples of 42 patients with newly diagnosed HCV-related HCC, 48 chronically HCV infected patients with liver cirrhosis and 40 healthy individuals by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction technique. In comparison with chronically HCV infected patients and healthy controls, miR-301 expression levels were significantly increased in HCC patients (P < 0.001). miR-301 levels distinguished HCC patients from chronic HCV patients, with area under the receiver–operating characteristic curve of 0.89 (95% CI 0.82–0.96), the sensitivity and the specificity were 78.57% and 89.58% respectively. Moreover, miR-301 levels were significantly linked with tumor size (P = 0.014), serum levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (P = 0.028) and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) score (P = 0.003). These results reveal that miR-301 can serve as a promising non-invasive biomarker for diagnosis of HCC in chronically HCV infected patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tropical Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Shebin El-Kom, Menoufia, 32511, Egypt

    Moamena S. El-Hamouly

  2. Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, National Liver Institute, Shebin El-Kom, Menoufia, Egypt

    Ayman A. Azzam & Samar E. Ghanem

  3. Clinical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Menoufia University, Shebin El-Kom, Menoufia, Egypt

    Fathia I. EL-Bassal & Amira M. F. Shehata

  4. Hepatology Department, National Liver Institute, Shebin El-Kom, Menoufia, Egypt

    Nashwa Shebl

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  1. Moamena S. El-Hamouly
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  2. Ayman A. Azzam
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  3. Samar E. Ghanem
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  4. Fathia I. EL-Bassal
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  5. Nashwa Shebl
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  6. Amira M. F. Shehata
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Correspondence to Moamena S. El-Hamouly.

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El-Hamouly, M.S., Azzam, A.A., Ghanem, S.E. et al. Circulating microRNA-301 as a promising diagnostic biomarker of hepatitis C virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma. Mol Biol Rep 46, 5759–5765 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-019-05009-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-019-05009-w

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