Serum MicroRNA-1246 as a Potential Biomarker for HCV-related Early-stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background and Objective: MicroRNAs had been implicated in several malignancies. Abnormal circulating microRNA-1246 expression had been detected in HCC patients in an expanding number of studies. However, the information in literature describing the pertinent ramifications of miR-1246 in early-stage HCCs are rare and heterogeneous. This study was designed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of serum miR-1246 level in early-stage HCV-related HCC patients contrasted with chronic hepatitis C (CHC), liver cirrhosis (LC) and healthy control (HC). Materials and Methods: Two hundred HCV outpatients were doled out into 3 groups, HCC group (n = 100), CHC group (n = 30) and LC group (n = 70). Another hundred (100) ageand sex-matched healthy controls (HC) were likewise enlisted. The serum expression level of miR-1246 (by quantitative Real-Time PCR), AFP and prothrombin induced by vitamin K absence-II (PIVKA-II) were tested. Results: In HCC patients, in contrast to AFP, the serum expression levels of PIVKA-II and miR-1246 were statistically significantly increased discriminating HCC patients and early-stage HCCs not only from non-HCC patients (CHC, LC) yet additionally from HC. PIVKA-II and miR-1246, either individually or combined, had excellent diagnostic accuracies and performances as demonstrated by their ROCs and high AUCs >0.7. This serum over-expression positively correlated with the clinicopathological characteristics of both HCC and non-HCC patients. Conclusion: Serum miR-1246 level was significantly higher in HCC patients compared with non-HCC and HC and reliably discriminate early-stage HCV-related HCCs particularly when combined with PIVKA-II.