RESUMO
Objective To explore the expression of microRNA (miR)-143 and related association to clinicopathologic features of cervical cancer in both Uygur and Han women with cervical cancer in Xinjiang.Methods The expression levels of miR-143 in the specimens from 34 non-tumor and 66 cervical cancer tissues,were examined by quantitative real-time PCR.Levels on the expression of miR-143 in Xinjiang Uygur women and the correlations between the expression levels of miR-143 and related clinicopathologic features of cervical cancer were analyzed.Results The expression levels of miR-143 were significantly lower in the tumor tissues than that in the non-tumor tissues (P＜0.05) but no significant difference was found between women with Uygur or Han ethnicities.Down-regulated miR-143 expression was associated with both the tumor size and lymph node metastasis in patients with cervical cancer (Z=-2.628,P=0.009 and Z=-2.127,P=0.033 respectively).No significant associations were found between the expression levels of miR-143 and factors as age,depth of tumor invasion,parametrial infiltration,clinical stage,types of histology and stage of differentiation.ROC curve analysis on miR-143 expression in cervical cancer patients with different tumor sizes and lymph node metastasis:the rates on AUC were 0.711 and 0.697,both larger than 0.5,respectively.The sensitivity and specificity of evaluating tumor size were 85.7％ and 62.2％.The sensitivity and specificity of lymph node metastasis were 72.2％ and 60.4％.Conclusion It seemed that miR-143 play an important role in the processes of generation and progression of cervical cancer.However,there was no significant difference found between the different ethnic groups.The expression level of miR-143 might serve as a valuable adjuvant parameter for diagnosing and predicting the state of cervical cancer.