Expression patterns of microRNA-21, microRNA-371-5p and microRNA-378 in three types of gastrointestinal tumors and their clinical significances

Objective To explore the expression patterns and clinical significance of microRNA (miRNA, miR)-21, miR-371-5p and miR-378 in gastric carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma and colorectal cancer. Methods The serum samples of 100 patients with gastric cancer, 50 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, 50 patients with colorectal cancer were collected before and after operation, and at the follow-up endpoint. Luminex liquid microarray was used to detect the expression of serum miRNAs to analyze the expression patterns of three miRNAs in gastrointestinal tumors and their clinical significance. Results Preoperative serum miR-21 expression in gastric cancer recurrence group (median: 5.55), liver cancer recurrence group (median: 6.39) and colorectal cancer recurrence group (median: 5.46) was significantly higher than that in those non-recurrence groups (median: 2.52, 2.87 and 2.18 respectively), and the difference was statistically significant (all P=0.000). Preoperative serum miR-371-5p expression in gastric cancer recurrence group (median: 7.29) and liver cancer recurrence group (median: 2.11) was significantly higher than that in those non-recurrence groups (median: 2.56 and 1.82, respectively), and the difference was statistically significant (both P=0.000). In colorectal cancer, the median of preoperative serum miR-371-5p expression in the recurrence group was 0.33, significantly lower than that in the non-recurrence group (median: 3.23), and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.000). The median of preoperative serum miR-378 expression in gastric cancer recurrence group and colorectal cancer recurrence group was 10.13 and 0.33 respectively, and that in those non-recurrence groups was 3.23 and 0.45 respectively, with statistically significant difference (both P=0.000). The median of preoperative serum miR-378 expression in live cancer recurrence group and the non-recurrence group was 0.98 and 1.09 respectively, and there was no significant difference between them (P=0.410). The expression of the three miRNAs was associated with M stage of the three kinds of gastrointestinal tumors (all P=0.000). The expresssion of miR-21 showed dynamic changes with surgical resection and recurrence in the three kinds of gastrointestinal tumors, while miR-371-5p and miR-378 showed dymanic changes in gastric cancer. The expression of miR-21 and miR-371-5p was significantly associated with postoperative recurrence of three kinds of tumors, and miR-378 was significantly associated with the prognosis of gastric cancer and colorectal cancer (all P=0.000). Conclusion Detection of miR-21 helps to assess non-specific prognosis of digestive tract tumors, and the detection of miR-371-5p and miR-378 may help to assess the prognosis of gastric cancer and colorectal cancer. Key words: Gastrointestinal tumor; MicroRNAs; Prognosis