The changes of serum miR-21 expression level in patients with HCC before and after TACE and its ;clinical significance / 介入放射学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the changes of serum miR-21 expression level in patients with HCC before and after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and to discuss its clinical significance. Methods Before and after TACE the levels of serum miR-21 in 42 patients with HCC and 42 healthy subjects were determined by reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-PCR), and the levels of serum AFP were also estimated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results were analyzed. Results The serum miR-21 level in patients with HCC was (12.9 ± 3.5) times of that in normal subjects(t=19.430 7, P < 0.01). One month after TACE, the serum miR-21 level became (7.2 ± 1.7) times of that of normal reference value, which was remarkably lower than that obtained before the treatment (t=9.493 7, P<0.01). The serum miR-21 level was closely correlated with the tumor size, the presence of tumor thrombus and HBV infection. One month after TACE the serum miR-21 levels in patient groups showing partial response, stable disease and progressive disease were (4.0 ± 0.3), (6.0 ± 1.5) and (8.6 ± 1.5) times, respectively, of that of normal reference value, and statistically significant difference existed between each other among the three groups (F=38.168, P=0.000). ROC-AUC value of MiR-21 in diagnosing HCC was 0.910 ± 0.041, which was significantly higher than that of AFP (0.860 ± 0.037, t=6.3042, P<0.01). The specificity of miR-21 in detecting HCC was 88.1%, which was remarkably higher than that of AFP (69%, χ2= 4.5253, P = 0.033).Conclusion After TACE the serum MiR-21 level in HCC patients is significantly decreased, which is very helpful in predicting the therapeutic efficacy of TACE. Therefore, MiR- 21 can be regarded as a potential molecular marker of HCC.