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Serum miR-21 may predict colorectal cancer diagnosis, prognosis
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High expression of miR-21 was associated with increased risk for colorectal cancer, according to study results.
Researchers aimed to determine the extent to which miR-21 and miR-31 are serum biomarkers in colorectal cancer.
They screened expression in medium from two colorectal cancer cell lines, according to study protocols. Serum analyses then were conducted in 12 patients with colorectal malignancies and 12 controls.
A cohort of 186 participants — including 60 postoperative patients, 43 advanced adenoma patients and 53 controls — were used to validate expression of candidate micro RNAs in serum.
Researchers analyzed a sample of 166 matched primary colorectal cancer tissues to determine whether the micro RNAs reflect expression in the cancer.
Results indicated that cancer cell lines secreted miR-21, and that this micro RNA was upregulated in serum of case patients. However, serum miR-31 was not expressed differently in patients with colorectal cancer and controls.
Results of analysis of the validation cohort indicated that preoperative serum miR-21 levels demonstrated statistically significant elevation in adenomas (P<.001) and colorectal malignancies (P<.001). The expression level of this micro RNA decreased in postoperative serum among patients who underwent curative surgery (P<.001).
Expression of serum miR-21 levels highlighted differences between adenoma and controls (area under the curve [AUC]=0.813; 95% CI, 0.691-0.91) and between colorectal cancer and controls (AUC=0.919; 95% CI, 0.867-0.958).
Researchers observed significant associations between higher miR-21 expression in serum and tissue samples and a number of clinical outcomes, including tumor size, distant metastasis and poor survival. This micro RNA also independently predicted colorectal cancer (HR=4.12; 95% CI, 1.10-15.4).
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