Expression of circulating microRNA-20a and let-7a in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

• Published in: World journal of gastroenterology : WJG 2015-04, Vol.21 (15), p.4660-4665
• Main Authors: He, Fu-Cheng, Meng, Wei-Wei, Qu, Yun-Hui, Zhou, Ming-Xia, He, Jing, Lv, Pin, Ming, Liang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Area Under Curve; Biomarkers, Tumor - blood; Biomarkers, Tumor - genetics; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - blood; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - genetics; Case-Control Studies; Clinical Trials Study; Esophageal Neoplasms - blood; Esophageal Neoplasms - genetics; Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma; Female; Humans; Male; MicroRNAs - blood; MicroRNAs - genetics; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Staging; Predictive Value of Tests; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; ROC Curve
• ISSN: 1007-9327; 2219-2840
• DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i15.4660

To investigate the expressions of microRNA-20a (miR-20a) and let-7a in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and their diagnostic value. Seventy patients with ESCC and 40 healthy subjects were enrolled to investigate the expression of miR-20a and let-7a using quantitative real-time PCR. The expression of miR-20a and let-7a was compared between ESCC patients and healthy subjects. The plasma levels of miR-20a and let-7a in relation to patient clinicopathologic parameters, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and the sensitivity and specificity of miR-20a and let-7a in ESCC diagnosis were analyzed. Plasma levels of miR-20a were significantly higher in ESCC patients than in healthy controls, and plasma levels of let-7 were lower in ESCC patients than in healthy controls (both P < 0.05). The area under the ROC curve of miR-20a was 0.767 (95%CI: 0.677-0.857; P < 0.001), when the cut-off value was set at 4.77, the sensitivity and specificity were 64.3% and 75.0%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve of let-7a was 0.829 (95%CI: 0.754-0.904; P < 0.001), when the cut-off value was set at 6.22, the sensitivity and specificity were 74.3% and 85.0%, respectively. Thus, the sensitivity and specificity of let-7a were higher than those of miR-20a. The median relative plasma expression of let-7a in clinical stage III/IV (0.24) was lower than that in stage I/II (0.42), while the expression of miR-20a according to stage was not statistically different. The expressions of miR-20a and let-7a were not related to gender, age, tumor diameter, tumor grade, or pathologic stage. Plasma miR-20a and let-7a levels are significantly altered in patients with ESCC and can be used as potential biomarkers in the diagnosis of ESCC.