Expression of microRNA-222 in hepatocellular carcinoma tissue and its clinical significance

Objective To investigate the expression of microRNA-222 ( miRNA-222) in hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC) tissue and its clinical significance. Methods A total of 103 HCC tissue samples were collected from the patients who underwent surgical resection in Dalian Central Hospital and The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University from January 2012 to December 2014. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure the expression of miRNA-222 in HCC tissues, adjacent cirrhotic tissues, and distal liver tissues, and the association between miRNA-222 expression and the clinicopathological features of HCC was analyzed. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison of continuous data between multiple groups, and the Dunnett's T3 test was used for further comparison between any two groups; the t-test was used for comparison between two groups. Results There was a significant difference in the expression of miRNA-222 between HCC tissues, adjacent cirrhotic tissues, and distal liver tissues ( F = 27. 167, P < 0. 001) ; the HCC tissues had significantly higher relative expression of miRNA-222 than the adjacent cirrhotic tissues ( 4. 543 ± 2. 029 vs 3. 072 ± 0. 844, P < 0. 01) and the distal liver tissues ( 4. 543 ± 2. 029 vs 1. 559 ± 0. 695, P < 0. 01) , and the adjacent cirrhotic tissues had significantly higher relative expression of miRNA-222 than the distal liver tissues ( P < 0. 01) . The expression of miRNA-222 was significantly associated with tumor size, degree of tumor differentiation, tumor thrombus in the portal vein, and invasion/metastasis ( t = 7. 256, 9. 900, 2. 345, and 4. 225, all P < 0. 05) , while it was not associated with sex, age, the presence of viral hepatitis, or increased alpha-fetoprotein level ( all P > 0. 05) . Conclusion The expression of miRNA-222 is abnormally upregulated in HCC tissue, and miRNA-222 measurement may help to evaluate the clinical progression and prognosis of HCC.