The Diagnostic Value of MicroRNAs as a Biomarker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Background Recently, the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in diagnosing cancer has been attracted increasing attention. However, few miRNAs have been applied in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of miRNAs for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at early stages clinically. Methods A literature search was carried out using PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases. We explored the diagnostic value of miRNAs in distinguishing HCC from healthy individuals. The quality assessment was performed in Review Manager 5.3 software. The overall sensitivity and specificity and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained with random-effects models through Stata 14.0 software. And heterogeneity was assessed using Q test and I2 statistics. Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were conducted based on the sample, nation, quality of studies, and miRNA profiling. The publication bias was evaluated through Deeks' funnel plot. Results A total of 34 studies, involving in 2747 HCC patients and 2053 healthy individuals, met the inclusion criteria in the 33 included literature studies. In the summary receiver operating characteristic (sROC) curve, AUC was 0.92 (95% CI, 0.90–0.94), with 0.84 (95% CI, 0.79–0.88) sensitivity and 0.87 (95% CI, 0.83–0.90) specificity. There was no publication bias (P=0.48). Conclusion miRNAs in vivo can be acted as a potential diagnostic biomarker for HCC, which can facilitate the early diagnosis of HCC in clinical practice.

Functional roles of non-coding RNAs regulated by thyroid hormones in liver cancer

“…For example, miR-26a was identified as a promising biomarker for the diagnosis of early HCC. Even further, the expression levels of miR-221 and miR-101-1 could be used as non-invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis of early HCC from HCV patients [ 33 ]. In the choice of biomarker, in addition to the specificity and accuracy of the test, the method of obtaining the specimen is also a very important consideration.…”

MicroRNAs as Diagnostic Tools in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

“…Among miRNAs that were initially found to be promising as diagnostic tools in HCC, miR-21 and miR-122 did not show a different expression in cancer patients in an analysis using RNA sequencing. Differently, miR-101-3p, miR-106b-3p and miR-1246 showed a good diagnostic accuracy, either individually or in combination, when evaluated in HCC patients versus healthy controls or cirrhotic patients [79].…”

Differentially expressed microRNAs in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of non‐segmental vitiligo and their clinical significance

“…They also suppress the expression of target mRNAs, initiate post‐transcriptional level regulation of target mRNAs, and participate in about 30% of human genome regulation 6 . Several studies have shown that miRNA can be used as an evaluation indicator for diagnosis, staging, and severity of various diseases 11,12 . The miRNAs have been found to be closely related to the pathogenesis of vitiligo.…”

“…6 Several studies have shown that miRNA can be used as an evaluation indicator for diagnosis, staging, and severity of various diseases. 11,12 The miRNAs have been found to be closely re- In this study, high-throughput RNA sequencing was employed to analyze the expression pattern of miRNA between progressive NSV and healthy people. We additionally studied the relationships between abnormal expression of miRNAs and NSV activities.…”