circRNAs (hsa_circ_00156, hsa_circ _000224, and hsa_circ _000520) are novel potential biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma

We examined their expression in the sera of 68 patients with HCC, 60 patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC), and 36 healthy controls using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. circRNAs hsa_circ_00156, hsa_circ_000224, and hsa_circ_00520 are novel potential biomarkers of high sensitivity and specificity, which could potentially be used in the diagnosis of HCC. AbstractCircular RNAs (circRNAs) are a newly validated type of noncoding RNAs recently found to be deregulated in several human cancers. More accurate and specific noninvasive biomarkers are strongly needed for better diagnosis and prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We performed a bioinformatics analysis to retrieve a novel panel of circRNAs potentially relevant to HCC. We examined their expression in the sera of 68 patients with HCC, 60 patients with chronic hepatitis C, and 36 healthy controls using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. We examined the performance characteristics of the selected circRNA biomarker panel in comparison with alpha ‐fetoprotein (AFP). In addition, we performed a survival analysis to correlate between their expression levels and patient survival. The circRNAs hsa_circ _00224 and hsa_circ _00520 showed a strong biomarker potential with relatively high sensitivities and specificities compared with AFP. The comb ined panel including the three circRNAs showed superior performance characteristics relative to those of AFP. The median follow‐up period was 26 months. hsa_circ_005...
Source: Journal of Cellular Biochemistry - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research