Evaluation of Mir-1290 as a Possible Diagnostic Factor in the Serum of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients with Qualitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction.

Abstract

Background & objective: This study aimed to determine the incidence of microRNA (miRNA; miR-1290) in the serum of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients compared to a control group using the qualitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.

Methods: Blood serum samples were obtained from patients diagnosed with OSCC and confirmed through biopsy. The samples were collected from patients referred to the Mashhad Dental Faculty and Ghaem Hospital. The OSCC group consisted of 17 patients, while the healthy group included 15 individuals. RNA was extracted from the patient samples, and samples with an A260/280 ratio between 1.8 and 2.0 (indicating acceptable RNA quality) were immediately converted into complementary DNA (cDNA) using albumin and cDNA reference genes. The SYBR green real-time reverse transcriptase PCR method was used to measure the presence of miR-1290 in the blood samples.

Results: A total of 32 patients were examined in this study, including 17 women (53.1%) and 15 men (46.9%). The mean age was 46.7 years in the healthy group and 54.6 years in the SCC group, indicating a significant difference (P<0.05). The expression level of the miR-1290 gene was higher in patients with SCC compared to the healthy group (P=0.000). While the expression level of miR-1290 was higher in grade 3 and advanced stage than in grades 2 and 1 and early stage, the differences were not statistically significant (P=0.173 and P=0.564 for grade and stage, respectively).

Conclusion: The expression level of miR-1290 may increase in SCC patients compared to healthy individuals, making it a potential circulating biomarker. Further investigations for diagnostic utility would be warranted.