Mai Zahra
Alexandria Univeristy, Egypt
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Cancer Sci Ther
Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second most common cause of death from cancer worldwide. In Egypt, the burden of HCC has been increasing with a doubling in the incidence rate in the past decade. One of the reasons for the high mortality in HCC is that the tumors are frequently detected at a stage when curative resection is no longer feasible. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify novel biomarkers with high efficacy for early detection of HCC. The present study was designed to validate the role of serum miRNA 21 expression in diagnosis of HCC in Egyptian patients. Methods: A total of 60 serum samples (20 samples from HCC patients, 20 samples from cirrhotic patients and 20 samples from healthy volunteers) were collected. The serum expression level of miR-21 was detected by real time quantitative reversetranscriptase PCR (RT-qPCR). Results: Serum miRNA-21 levels in patients with HCC were significantly higher than in cirrhotic patients and control group. ROC analyses for the diagnostic power of serum miRNA-21 yielded an AUC of 0.881 with 90% sensitivity and 72.5% specificity. Conclusions: In conclusion, serum miRNA 21 expression level was more sensitive and specific biomarker in diagnosis of HCC than the traditional marker, Alpha fetoprotein (AFP). When combined together, AFP and miRNA 21 level showed better sensitivity and specificity in HCC diagnosis. Therefore, serum miRNA 21 can be used as a useful additional biomarker, with AFP for screening of HCC among patients with liver cirrhosis.
Email: mai_el_kelani@yahoo.com
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