title: Low Expression of Mir-137 Predicts Poor Prognosis in Cutaneous Melanoma Patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The present study aimed to measure miR-137 expression in patients with cutaneous melanoma (CM) and to estimate the correlation of miR-137 expression and the prognosis of CM patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The expression level of miR-137 was assayed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and presented as mean ±SD. Chi-square was used to evaluate the relationship between miR-137 expression and clinical characteristics. We used a Kaplan-Meier survival curve to determine the overall survival rate of CM patients. Moreover, the correlation between miR-137 expression and the prognosis of CM patients was confirmed by Cox regression analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The relative expression of miR-137 in CM tissue was 1.59±0.43, while that in paired normal tissue was 2.41±0.54, which was significantly higher. Chi-square analysis showed statistical significance between miR-137 expression and clinical characteristics such as TNM stage, ulcer, and occurrence site (P<0.05). However, no association was found between miR-137 expression and age, sex, or family history (P>0.05). According to the survival curve outcome, patients with low miR-137 expression showed relatively higher mortality (P=0.000) and multivariate analysis verified that low expression of miR-137 predicted poor prognosis of CM patients (HR=8.531, 95% CI=2.950-24.668, P=0.000).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Compared with paired normal tissues, miR-137 expression was lower in CM tissues. Patients with low miR-137 expression had higher mortality than those with high miR-137 expression, suggesting that low miR-137 expression indicated poor prognosis for CM patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Guangdong General Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D015233:Models, Statistical; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012307:Risk Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult; D000096142:Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C545567:MIRN137 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs