Affiliations: [a] Department of Radiology, Putuo Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China | [b] Department of Radiology, Huadong Hospital Affliated to Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Ming Li, Department of Radiology, Huadong Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China. Tel.: +86 02162483180; Fax: +86 02162483180; E-mail:dtcenter_hd@163.com
Note: [1] Jianlin Li and Ming Li contributed equally to this work.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Clinical significance of microRNA (miR)-15a in human
esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the expression level of miR-15a and to
determine its potential for diagnosis and prognosis in ESCC. METHODS: Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain
reaction was performed to examine the expression levels of miR-15a in ESCC
tissues and patients' sera. The diagnostic and prognostic implications of
serum miR-15a level in human ESCC were further evaluated. RESULTS: Expression levels of miR-15a in ESCC tissues and patients'
sera were significantly decreased (both P< 0.001). Additionally, serum
miR-15a had an optimal diagnostic cut-off point (2.29) for ESCC with
sensitivity of 86.36% and specificity of 100.00%. Moreover, low serum
miR-15a level more frequently occurred in ESCC patients with advanced
tumor-node-metastasis, T and N stages (all P= 0.01) and poor tumor
differentiation (P= 0.03). The Kaplan-Meier curve showed that low miR-15a
expression was significantly associated with shorter overall survival (OS)
and disease-free survival (DFS) of ESCC patients (both P< 0.001). Further
multivariate analysis identified miR-15a as an independent prognostic factor
for both OS and DFS (both P= 0.01). CONCLUSION: Decreased expression of miR-15a may play a crucial role
in ESCC development and progression. Serum miR-15a level could be used as a
potential diagnostic and prognostic marker in clinics.
