title: Prognostic and diagnostic potential of miR-146a in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Accumulating evidence indicates that dysregulated microRNA-146a (miR-146a) is involved in tumour genesis and cancer progression. We aimed to evaluate its expression level and the potential for the diagnosis and prognosis in oesophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC).
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined miR-146a expression in 62 pairs of ESCC cancerous and matched paracancerous tissue, 115 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples and serum samples from 154 ESCC patients and 154 healthy volunteers using quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR). Kaplan-Meier method, Cox regression and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were applied to analyse its prognostic and diagnostic value.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MicroRNA-146a expression level was significantly decreased in ESCC tissue compared with paracancerous tissue (P<0.001). Its regulation level was negatively associated with T factor and TNM stage. Kaplan-Meier curve revealed that its downregulation level predicted worse overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Both univariate and multivariate analyses identified miR-146a expression as independent prognostic factor for OS and PFS. Serum miR-146a was significantly reduced in ESCC patients than in healthy controls (P<0.001). Area under the curve ROC value, sensitivity and specificity for this marker were 0.863 ± 0.033, 85.7% and 68.6% in the Discovery Group, and 0.891 ± 0.027, 82.1% and 83.3% in the Validation Group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MicroRNA-146a is significantly reduced in cancerous tissue and serum samples of ESCC patients. It is an ideal biomarker for the prognosis and diagnosis of ESCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: Cong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: Shanghui
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: Department of Imaging, Shandong Medical College, Jinan, Shandong 250002, China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: Lihui
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: Ding
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: Effat Un
authors.initials: EU
authors.lastname: Nesa
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Jinan, Shandong 250117, China.
authors.forename: Xintong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200032, China.|Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Cihang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: Nana
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: Yufeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D000077277:Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C542542:MIRN146 microRNA, human; D035683:MicroRNAs