Affiliations: [a] Department of General Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital to Yangzhou University School of Medicine, Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China | [b] Department of Colorectal Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China | [c] Shanghai Colorectal Cancer Research Center, Shanghai, China
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding authors:
Long Cui, Department of Colorectal Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai
Jiaotong University School of Medicine, No. 1665 Kongjiang Road, Shanghai
200092, China. Tel.: +86 13901745953;
E-mail: longcuidr@126.com;
Jiwei Sun, Department of Colorectal Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai
Jiaotong University School of Medicine, No. 1665 Kongjiang Road, Shanghai,
China. Tel.: +86 13917799080; E-mail:jiwei_sun@126.com.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common
causes of cancer-related death around the world. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are
small non-coding RNAs that often are abnormally expressed in tumors.
Detection and quantitation of miRNAs may provide information for the
screening and early diagnosis of CRC. OBJECTIVES: The objective of our study was to determine whether
fecal microRNAs (miR-29a, miR-145, miR-223, miR-224) could be used as
biomarkers for the screening and early diagnosis of colorectal cancer. METHODS: We carried out a retrospective analysis of the miRNAs in
fecal samples from 80 CRC patients and 51 normal controls. The levels of 4
miRNAs (miR-29a, miR-145, miR-223, and miR-224) were quantitated using the
SYBR Green miScript PCR system and 2 - Δ Δ Ct method. RESULTS: Our data indicated that the expression levels of miR-29a
(p< 0.001), miR-223 (p< 0.001) and miR-224 (p< 0.001) are significantly lower
in feces from CRC patients than these from normal volunteers, whereas their
miR-145 levels are not significantly different (p= 0.59). Interestingly, the
level of miR-29a (p< 0.001) in feces from individuals with rectum cancer is
also significantly higher than that from patients with colon cancer. CONCLUSION: There are reduced expression of miR-29a, miR-223, and
miR-224 in the feces from the CRC patients, which could be an informative
biomarker for screening and early diagnosis of CRC.
