Evaluation of Plasma MicroRNAs as Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarkers in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: miR-196a and miR-210 Could Be Negative and Positive Prognostic Markers, Respectively

Background. Identifying diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers that could be targeted in the therapy of pancreatic cancer is essential. Objective. Investigations were conducted with respect to plasma miRNA (miR-21, miR-210, miR-155, miR-196a, miR-20a, and miR-25) expression and clinicopathologic factors to evaluate the prognostic value of miRNAs in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Methods. Plasma miRNAs were detected by real-time quantitative PCR, and the association with clinicopathologic factors was subsequently performed by univariate and multivariate analyses. Results. Six miRNAs expressed significantly higher in PDAC patients than in normal individuals were identified. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed. It was evident that miRNA expression associated with PDAC, lymph node metastasis, serosal infiltration, and comprehensive therapy reached significance for overall survival. High miR-196a expression was associated with poor survival (P = 0.001), whereas high miR-210 expression was significantly associated with improved survival (P = 0.003). Multivariate survival analysis indicated that the miR-210 and miR-196a expression signature, lymph node metastasis, and comprehensive therapy were independent factors affecting overall survival. Conclusions. MiRNA expression profile is distinctive in PDAC. Aberrant expression of certain miRNAs was remarkably involved in shaping the overall survival time, which include miR-196a overexpression and decreased miR-210 expression.