Diagnostic Performance of microRNA-122 and microRNA-224 in Hepatitis C Virus-Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)

Abstract

Background and objectives: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a potential health problem in Egypt because of<br />the high prevalence of HCV infection. Using alpha-fetoprotein for diagnosis is unsatisfactory especially in early stages.<br />Many studies showed that microRNAs (miRNA) expression may be associated with the development and progression<br />of various types of cancer including HCC and it may serve as biomarkers for diagnosis. This study examined two<br />miRNAs which are miRNA-122 and miRNA-224 if it could serve as biomarkers for diagnosis of HCC. Methods: This<br />study included 20 patients with HCV-induced HCC and 20 patients with HCV-induced liver cirrhosis for comparison.<br />As well as 20 healthy volunteers as controls. All participants were subjected to history taking, clinical examination, and<br />determination of serum alpha-fetoprotein. Quantification of plasma miRNA-122 and miRNA-224 was done by real-time<br />quantitative PCR. Results: Our results showed that levels of miRNA-122 were significantly lower in HCC group compared<br />to the cirrhosis group and controls, while levels of miRNA-224 were significantly higher. The levels of both miRNAs<br />have a correlation with tumor size. Moreover, the diagnostic accuracy of miRNA-122 (sensitivity 95%, specificity 81%,<br />p-value <0.001) and of miRNA-224 (sensitivity 85%, specificity 79%, p-value <0.001) in discriminating patients with<br />HCC from patients with liver cirrhosis were higher than that of alpha-fetoprotein (sensitivity 70%, specificity 70%,<br />p-value <0.05). In addition, combining any one of these miRNAs with alpha-fetoprotein will increase the diagnostic<br />accuracy compared to using each marker alone. Conclusion: miRNA-122 and miRNA-224 could serve as biomarkers<br />for the diagnosis of HCC.