Affiliations: [a] Department of Orthopedics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China | [b] Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Wenbo Wang, Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150001, Heilongjiang, China. Tel.: +86 0451 53643849; Fax: +86 0451 53670428; E-mail: wangwenbohmu@163.com.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: It has been demonstrated that microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in the carcinogenesis of osteosarcoma. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to determine the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum miR-124 in osteosarcoma. METHODS: The serum miR-124 expression levels in 114 osteosarcoma patients, 40 periostitis patients and 50 normal controls were detected using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). RESULTS: The level of serum miR-124 was remarkably decreased in osteosarcoma patients when compared to periostitis patients and healthy controls (both p< 0.05). The serum miR-124 levels in osteosarcoma patients were significantly elevated after receiving surgical treatment (p< 0.01). Furthermore, the area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) for serum miR-124 was 0.846, combining with 79.8% sensitivity and 86.00% specificity. A significant correlation was detected between serum miR-124 expression and distant metastasis (p= 0.0256) as well as clinical stage (p= 0.0006). Similarly, serum miR-124 levels in patients with advanced clinical stage or positive distant metastasis were significantly decreased. Moreover, the Kaplan-Meier method with log-rank test showed that osteosarcoma patients with lower serum miR-124 levels had unfavorable 5 year overall survival and disease free survival rates. Finally, multivariate analysis revealed that serum miR-124 was an independent prognostic indicator for osteosarcoma. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggested that serum miR-124 might be a promising biomarker with diagnostic and prognostic value for osteosarcoma.
