High expression of micro RNA-135A in hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with recurrence within 12 months after resection

Abstract

BackgroundHepatocellular carcinoma has a dismal prognosis due to recurrence rates of up to 70% after curative resection. Early recurrence is driven by synchronous microscopic intrahepatic metastases. The predictive value of histological parameters is discussed controversially and adjuvant therapy is not established. The aim of this study was to identify patients at high risk for early intrahepatic recurrence by expression profiling of selected micro RNAs.MethodsIn 52 patients undergoing HCC resection between 2011 and 2014, liver and tumor tissue was collected during surgery. Twelve patients with incomplete data regarding HCC recurrence, secondary liver transplantation, or perioperative death were excluded, leaving 40 patients with early recurrence <12 months (R+) or without recurrence for >24 months (R-) to compare grading, T, L, V, and R status. If tissue quality permitted, micro RNAs were measured in HCC and liver tissue.ResultsTen women and 30 men (64.0 ± 10.2 years) were analyzed. R+ occurred in 29 patients 6.2 ± 4.5 months after resection. Surveillance of R- was 26.2 ± 5.2 months. High intratumoral expression of miR-135a was associated with high risk of recurrence (HR = 4.2, p = 0.024, time to recurrence 8.8 ± 2.0 vs. 24.8 ± 4.4 months in patients with low miR-135a expression). As expected, T3 status was correlated with early recurrence, while other histological parameters and expression of miR-21, miR-122, and miR-125a did not.ConclusionsWe show a significant association between high expression of miR-135a and early HCC recurrence. Therefore, high intratumoral miR-135a expression might serve as a novel biomarker to identify patients urgently requiring adjuvant therapy post resection.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-017-3053-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Effects of microRNA-135a on the epithelial–mesenchymal transition, migration and invasion of bladder cancer cells by targeting GSK3β through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway

“… 27 Previous studies discovered that miR-135a expression is higher in cancer tissues such as hepatocellular carcinoma and colorectal cancer, facilitating cancer growth and invasion, and may serve as a biomarker. 31 , 32 Another study indicated that activating β-catenin was related to BC progression. 33 Consistent with the results of this study, mRNA and protein expression in cyclinD1 were shown to be upregulated in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder.…”

Wait Time of Less Than 6 and Greater Than 18 Months Predicts Hepatocellular Carcinoma Recurrence After Liver Transplantation

“…Finally, identifying new biomarkers for assessment of tumor aggressiveness 31 and predicting post-LT outcome is of critical importance in future research. DCP (des-gamma-carboxyprothrombin) 32 and selected noncoding RNAs (microRNAs and long noncoding RNAs) 33 hold promise and should be further investigated.…”

MicroRNA-1271 functions as a metastasis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition inhibitor in human HCC by targeting the PTP4A1/c-Src axis

“…miR-218 has been shown to decrease tumor growth (5), miR-26a to inhibit metastasis (6) and miR-214 to prevent angiogenesis (7) in HCC. Moreover, certain miRNAs, including miR-155 (8), miR-137 (9) and miR-135a (10) have been shown to be associated with the recurrence of and poor survival in HCC. Hence, miRNAs have the potential to act as biomarkers of and therapeutic targets in HCC.…”