title: Circulating microRNA-122a as a diagnostic marker for hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential value of circulating miRNA-122a and miRNA-221 in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum samples were obtained from 85 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and 85 age-matched and sex-matched healthy volunteers. miRNAs were isolated from the serum samples, and alfa-fetoprotein levels were determined. Expression of miRNA-122a and miRNA-221 in cases and controls was quantified using U6 sn RNA as the internal control. The diagnostic value of miRNA-122a, miRNA-221, and alfa-fetoprotein was compared by receiver operating characteristic analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The serum miRNA-122a level in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma was significantly reduced in comparison with healthy controls and correlated with known risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma. Circulating miRNA-221 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma was higher compared with the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that the diagnostic power of miRNA-122a was suboptimal compared with serum alfa-fetoprotein. Further, the serum alfa-fetoprotein and miRNA-122a combined classifier resulted in performance similar to that of alfa-fetoprotein alone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The serum miRNA-122a level correlates with risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma. However, use of miRNA-122a as a diagnostic tool for hepatocellular carcinoma is not superior to alfa-fetoprotein. Further analysis is needed to evaluate the diagnostic power of plasma miRNA-122a for hepatocellular carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Laboratory, Institute of Surgery Research, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hengliu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Mingxu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Kejun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shaoli
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deng
keywords: alpha-fetoprotein; circulating miRNA; hepatocellular carcinoma; miRNA-122a; miRNA-221; molecular diagnostics