title: MicroRNA-148b expression is decreased in hepatocellular carcinoma and associated with prognosis.
abstract: MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNA molecules that have been shown to regulate the expression of genes linked to cancer. MicroRNA-148a (miR-148a) has recently been found to be involved in many critical processes in human malignancies. The present study is to clarify the expression pattern and prognostic role of miR-148b in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The expression of miR-148b was detected in 156 cases of HCC and 36 cases of normal control specimens by real-time PCR. Results showed that miR-148b expression was significantly decreased in HCC compared with that in normal control. It was also demonstrated that aberrant miR-148b expression was associated with vein invasion and TNM stage of HCC. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that decreased miR-148b expression was associated with poor overall survival of patients. A multivariate survival analysis also indicated that miR-148b could be an independent prognostic marker. These results proved that miR-148b expression was decreased in HCC and associated with tumor invasion and progression. The present study also provides the first evidence that miR-148b could be an independent prognostic factor for patients with HCC, indicating the potential role of miR-148b as a prognostic marker in clinical practice, and the inhibition of miR-148b may even become a new therapeutic method for the treatment of HCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Youyi Xi Road 256#, Xi'an, 710068, Shaanxi, China, zzy538@qq.com.
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hai
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012016:Reference Values; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: C550570:MIRN148 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs