OBJECTIVE:
MicroRNAs (
miRNAs)
play a vital
role in pathogenesis and progression of many
cancers, including
cervical cancer. However, importance of
serum level of miR-101 in
cervical cancer has rarely been studied. In the present study,
clinical significance and prognostic value of
serum miR-101 for
cervical cancer was investigated.
METHODS:
Association between miR-101 level in
cervical cancer tissues and
prognosis of
patients was analyzed by using data retrieved from The
Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, which was followed with our
clinical study in which miR-101
serum level comparison between
cervical cancer patients and healthy controls was conducted by real-
time quantitative
polymerase chain reaction (
PCR).
RESULTS:
TCGA database demonstrated that miR-101 was down-regulated in
cervical cancer tissues compared with normal cervical
tissues, and univariate Cox
regression analysis indicated that decreased miR-101 expression was a highly significant negative
risk factor.
Similar trend was found in the
serum miR-101.
Serum level of miR-101 was associated with International
Federation of
Gynecology and
Obstetrics (FIGO) stage (p=0.003),
lymph node metastasis (p=0.001), and
serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC-Ag) level >4 (p=0.007). The overall
survival time of
cervical cancer patients with a higher level of
serum miR-101 was significantly longer than that of
patients with a lower level of
serum miR-101. Moreover, multivariate Cox
regression analysis indicated that the down-regulated
serum level of miR-101 was an independent predictor for the unfavorable
prognosis of
cervical cancer.
CONCLUSION:
Serum level of miR-101 is closely associated with
metastasis and
prognosis of
cervical cancer; and, hence could be a potential
biomarker and prognostic predictor for
cervical cancer.