Serum exosomal microRNAs as non-invasive biomarkers for human hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract

Background: Although considerable progress has been made in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), early detection is still highly considered the key to improved survival. Recently, cancer cellderived extracellular vesicles have been known to contain various intracellular biomolecules including microRNAs (miRNAs). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether exosomal miRNAs can serve as a serumbased biomarker in HCC. Methods: Expression of six miRNAs (miRNA-24, -130a, -182, -203, -373 and -423) was analysed in the exosome samples. We also investigated expression status of the six miRNAs in matched HCC tissues and corresponding normal liver tissues. Results: We observed that serum exosomal miRNA-203 (P < 0.05) and miRNA-373 (P < 0.05) were significantly up-regulated in advanced HCC patients. More interestingly, high serum exosomal miRNA-203 and miRNA-373 was associated with HCC progression (P < 0.01) as well as prognosis (P < 0.05) of HCC patients. Summary/Conclusion: We provided the novel evidence for usefulness of serum circulating exosomal miR-203 and miR-373 expressions as strong potential biomarkers for predicting prognosis and metastasis of HCC patients.