title: Diagnostic and prognostic implications of a serum miRNA panel in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) are potential biomarkers for cancer detection; however, little is known about their prognostic impact on oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). The current study aims to uncover novel miRNAs for prognostic biomarkers in ESCC patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We initially screened the expression of 754 serum miRNAs using TaqMan Low Density Array in two pooled samples respectively from 28 ESCC and 28 normal controls. Markedly upregulated miRNAs in ESCC and some miRNAs reported to be differently expressed in ESCC tissue were then validated individually by RT-qPCR in another 83 patients and 83 controls arranged in two phases. The changes of the selected miRNAs during the esophagectomy and their prognostic value were examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seven serum miRNAs were found to be significantly higher in ESCC than in controls; namely, miR-25, miR-100, miR-193-3p, miR-194, miR-223, miR-337-5p and miR-483-5p (P<0.0001), and the area under the receiver-operating-characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) for the seven-miRNA panel was 0.83 (95% CI 0.75-0.90). Most of these miRNAs declined markedly in postoperative samples versus preoperative samples (P<0.05). Moreover, high level of miR-25 was significantly correlated with shorter overall survival in patients (P = 0.027). Cox regression analysis identified lymph node metastasis, miR-25 and miR-100 as the independent risk factors for overall survival (hazard ratio (HR) 2.98 [1.36-6.55], P = 0.006; HR 3.84 [1.02-14.41], P = 0.029; HR 4.18 [1.21-14.50], P = 0.024, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The seven serum miRNAs could potentially serve as novel biomarkers for ESCC; moreover, specific miRNAs such as miR-25 and miR-100 can predict poor survival in ESCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Jinling Hospital, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Caiyun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Jinling Hospital, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for microRNA Biology and Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Jinling Hospital, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Xiaocui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: Department of Scientific Research Management, Jinling Hospital, Clinical School of Medical College, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Yuxiu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardio-thoracic Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Clinical School of Medical College, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Demin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Jinling Hospital, Clinical School of Medical College, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Xiaojun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Hospital of Xuzhou, Xuzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yanni
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for microRNA Biology and Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Jinling Hospital, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Junjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for microRNA Biology and Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zen
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for microRNA Biology and Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Chen-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, Jinling Hospital, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China; Jiangsu Engineering Research Center for microRNA Biology and Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Chunni
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000601:surgery; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003710:Demography; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000601:surgery; D000077277:Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs