title: Circulating microRNA-21 as a novel biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Several groups have reported the significance of circulating microRNA as a biochemical marker of cancer. To our knowledge, however, there are no reports on the significance of circulating microRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the significance of plasma microRNA-21 level as a biochemical marker for hepatocellular carcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Plasma microRNA-21 level was measured by qRT-PCR in 10 patients before and after curative resection of hepatocellular carcinoma. Plasma microRNA-21 was also compared in other groups of: 126 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, 30 patients with chronic hepatitis, and 50 healthy volunteers. The power of microRNA-21 in differentiating hepatocellular carcinoma from chronic hepatitis or from healthy volunteers was compared to that of α-fetoprotein.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the 10-patient group, plasma microRNA-21 levels significantly diminished after surgery compared with the pre-operative values (p=0.0125). Plasma microRNA-21 level in the 126 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma was significantly higher than in patients with chronic hepatitis and healthy volunteers (p<0.0001, p<0.0001, respectively). ROC analysis of plasma microRNA-21 yielded an AUC of 0.773 with 61.1% sensitivity and 83.3% specificity when differentiating hepatocellular carcinoma from chronic hepatitis, and an AUC of 0.953 with 87.3% sensitivity and 92.0% specificity when differentiating hepatocellular carcinoma from healthy volunteers. Both sets of values were superior to α-fetoprotein and improved for the combination of microRNA-21 and α-fetoprotein.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Plasma microRNA-21 level is a promising biochemical marker for hepatocellular carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tomimaru
authors.forename: Hidetoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Eguchi
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagano
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.forename: Shogo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marubashi
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanemura
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tomokuni
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Takemasa
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Umeshita
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kanto
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Doki
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mori
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics / Q000601:surgery; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C524940:MIRN21 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins