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Serum miR-18a: A Potential Marker for Hepatitis B Virus-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma Screening

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Abstract

Background

Alpha-fetoprotein detection is currently mainly used in clinic for diagnosis of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its sensitivity and specificity are not satisfying. Approximately 60–80 % of patients with HCC have an established background of chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV).

Aims

To investigate the potential of serum microRNAs (miRNAs) as biomarkers for HBV-related HCC.

Methods

This study was divided into two phases: firstly, marker (miR-95, miR-18a, miR-10b, miR125a, and miR-378) detection by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in sera from HBV patients with HCC (n = 15) and health subject (n = 15); and, secondly, marker validation by real-time qRT-PCR on HBV patients with HCC (n = 86) or hepatitis or cirrhosis (n = 30), and healthy subject (n = 45).

Results

Serum miR-18a was significantly higher in HBV patients with HCC than healthy controls (p < 0.01); serum miR-378 was significantly lower in HBV patients with HCC compared to healthy control (p < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses suggested that serum miR-18a had significant diagnostic value for HBV-related HCC. MiR-18a yielded an area under the curve (AUC) of ROC of 0.881 with 86.1 % sensitivity and 75.0 % specificity in discriminating HBV-related HCC from healthy controls, and an AUC of ROC of 0.775 with 77.2 % sensitivity and 70.0 % specificity in discriminating HBV-related HCC from chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that serum miR-18a might serve as a novel and potential noninvasive biomarker for HBV-related HCC screening.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by grants from the Hospital Administration Center of Wuxi, China (No.YGZ1016, YGZ1106).

Conflict of interest

This study has not financial or other conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathogen Biology, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China

    Lihua Li

  2. Key Laboratory on Technology for Parasitic Disease Prevention and Control, Ministry of Health, Wuxi, 214064, China

    Lihua Li & Qi Gao

  3. Oncology Institute, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Wuxi, 214062, China

    Lihua Li, Zijan Guo & Yong Mao

  4. Wuxi Infectious Diseases Hospital, Wuxi, 214005, China

    Juanhua Wang

  5. Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Meiyuan Yangxiang 117, Wuxi, 214064, China

    Qi Gao

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  1. Lihua Li
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  2. Zijan Guo
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  3. Juanhua Wang
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  4. Yong Mao
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Correspondence to Zijan Guo or Qi Gao.

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Li, L., Guo, Z., Wang, J. et al. Serum miR-18a: A Potential Marker for Hepatitis B Virus-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma Screening. Dig Dis Sci 57, 2910–2916 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-012-2317-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-012-2317-y

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