Evaluation of microRNA-205 expression as a potential triage marker for patients with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions

• Published in: Oncology letters 2017-05, Vol.13 (5), p.3586-3598
• Main Authors: Xie, Hong, Norman, Ingrid, Hjerpe, Anders, Vladic, Tomislav, Larsson, Catharina, Lui, Weng-Onn, Östensson, Ellinor, Andersson, Sonia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Medicin och hälsovetenskap
• ISSN: 1792-1074; 1792-1082
• DOI: 10.3892/ol.2017.5909

High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) testing is a recommended triage approach for females with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS), but due to its poor specificity this approach is not recommended for patients with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL). The objective of the current study was to determine microRNA (miR)-205 expression levels in liquid-based cytology (LBC) samples, and evaluate their ability to predict cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2/3 or worse (CIN2/3+) in females with minor cytological abnormalities. LBC samples were obtained from patients attending the Swedish Cervical Cancer Screening Program. The Mann-Whitney U test, one-way analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis test, Spearman rank order correlation analysis, and Pearson's χ test were used to assess the results. Accuracy analyses indicated that high miR-205 expression had a significantly higher specificity to high-risk HPV testing, and a sensitivity similar to that of high-risk HPV testing to predict CIN2+ and CIN3+ in women with LSIL, but not those with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. Although further research is required for females with LSIL, miR-205 expression in LBC samples may be a novel triage marker for, or a beneficial supplement to high-risk-HPV testing in these patients.