title: Serum microRNA-21 as a potential biomarker for response to hypomethylating agents in myelodysplastic syndromes.
abstract: Identification of biomarkers that predict responses to hypomethylating agents (HMAs) will allow optimal strategies for epigenetic therapy in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) to be established. Serum miR-21 was quantitatively measured in 58 MDS patients treated with HMAs and 14 healthy controls. Serum miR-192 was an internal control, and diagnostic performance was evaluated according to receiver operating characteristics (ROCs). ROC analysis indicated that serum miR-21 levels differentiated responders from non-responders with an area under the curve of 0.648 (95% confidence, 0.49 to 0.72). The baseline level of serum miR-21 was significantly lower in the responder group than in the non-responder group (P = 0.041). The overall response rate (ORR) of the high miR-21 group was significantly lower than that of the low miR-21 group (41.2 vs. 73.2%, P = 0.021). Progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly inferior in the high group versus the low group (14.0 vs. 44.5 months, P = 0.001). Multivariate analyses revealed that the initial serum miR-21 level (P = 0.001) and circulating blasts (P = 0.007) were prognostic factors for PFS. Serum miR-21 level was significantly associated with ORR and PFS in MDS patients treated with HMAs. Although validation with a large prospective study is required, serum miR-21 is a potential biomarker of epigenetic therapy in MDS patients.
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Yundeok
authors: Y
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: June-Won
authors: JW
authors: Cheong
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Chonnam National University College of Medicine, Jeollanam-do, Korea.
authors: Yeo-Kyeoung
authors: YK
authors: Kim
authors: Medical Research Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Ju-In
authors: JI
authors: Eom
authors: Medical Research Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Hoi-Kyung
authors: HK
authors: Jeung
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Soo Jeong
authors: SJ
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Dohyu
authors: D
authors: Hwang
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Jin Seok
authors: JS
authors: Kim
authors: Medical Research Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Hyeuong Joon
authors: HJ
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors: Yoo Hong
authors: YH
authors: Min
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000235:genetics*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009190:Myelodysplastic Syndromes / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D012372:ROC Curve; D012015:Reference Standards; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C524940:MIRN21 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs