Abstract
Background and aim: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major health burden globally. Dysregulation of miRNA 148a-3p is engaged in carcinogenesis. TGF-8 is a profibrogenic cytokine. This study assesses the expression level of miRNA 148a-3p and its relationship with serum TGF-81 and fibrosis index based on four factors (FIB-4) in Egyptian patients with HCV-associated HCC.
Subjects: and Methods: The study included 72 HCC patients with HCV, 48 HCV cirrhotic patients, and 47 healthy controls. Serum TGF-81 was assessed by ELISA and the expression of miRNA 148a-3p was measured by RT-PCR.
Results: Patients with HCC had lower plasma miRNA 148a-3p, higher serum TGF-81, and higher FIB-4 levels than patients with cirrhosis and controls. miRNA 148a-3p discriminated HCC either from control (AUC: 0.997, 95.83% sensitivity, 85.11% specificity) or from cirrhosis (AUC: 0.943, 91.67% sensitivity, 81.25% specificity). Moreover, it distinguished metastatic from nonmetastatic patients (AUC: 0.800, 88.89% sensitivity, 60.0% specificity). The decreased miRNA 148a-3p and the increased TGF-81 levels were related to distant metastasis, multinodular lesions, advanced TNM stage, and BCLC score (C). A negative correlation between miRNA 148a-3p and each of FIB-4 and TGF-81 was detected. The decreased miRNA 148a-3p was associated with poor overall survival and poor progression-free survival.
Conclusion: An inverse relationship between miRNA 148a-3p and both TGF-81 and FIB-4 was observed, which could be involved in HCC pathogenesis. Moreover, this miRNA is a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for HCC.