title: Serum miR-18a: a potential marker for hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma screening.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alpha-fetoprotein detection is currently mainly used in clinic for diagnosis of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its sensitivity and specificity are not satisfying. Approximately 60-80 % of patients with HCC have an established background of chronic infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the potential of serum microRNAs (miRNAs) as biomarkers for HBV-related HCC.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was divided into two phases: firstly, marker (miR-95, miR-18a, miR-10b, miR125a, and miR-378) detection by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in sera from HBV patients with HCC (n = 15) and health subject (n = 15); and, secondly, marker validation by real-time qRT-PCR on HBV patients with HCC (n = 86) or hepatitis or cirrhosis (n = 30), and healthy subject (n = 45).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum miR-18a was significantly higher in HBV patients with HCC than healthy controls (p < 0.01); serum miR-378 was significantly lower in HBV patients with HCC compared to healthy control (p < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses suggested that serum miR-18a had significant diagnostic value for HBV-related HCC. MiR-18a yielded an area under the curve (AUC) of ROC of 0.881 with 86.1 % sensitivity and 75.0 % specificity in discriminating HBV-related HCC from healthy controls, and an AUC of ROC of 0.775 with 77.2 % sensitivity and 70.0 % specificity in discriminating HBV-related HCC from chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that serum miR-18a might serve as a novel and potential noninvasive biomarker for HBV-related HCC screening.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathogen Biology, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Zijan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Juanhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000097:blood* / Q000821:virology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C522576:MIRN18A microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs