Significance of miR-122 in the diagnosis and prognosis of hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma

CHEN Hong; CHU Xing; ZHOU Huayou; YANG Hua; YANG Rui

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1007-8134.2024.05.005

Abstract：Objective To investigate the significance of serum microRNA(miR)-122 in the diagnosis and prognosis of hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma(HBV-HCC).Methods A total of 126 patients with chronic hepatitis B(CHB)and 128 patients with HBV-HCC who were admitted to our hospital from March 2019 to September 2020 were enrolled,and 128 healthy people were included as the healthy control group.The serum miR-122 level was measured by real-time quantitative PCR.The clinical value of serum miR-122 combined with alpha-fetoprotein(AFP)and protein induced by vitamin K absence/antagonist Ⅱ(PIVKA-Ⅱ)in the diagnosis of HBV-HCC and the significance of serum miR-122 in the prognosis of HBV-HCC were evaluated.Results Alanine aminotransferase(ALT)and PIVKA-Ⅱ in CHB group and HBV-HCC group were significantly increased compared with healthy control group(P<0.05),and the increases were more obvious in HBV-HCC group than in CHB group(P<0.05).In addition,AFP in HBV-HCC group was higher than that in the other 2 groups(P<0.05).The relative expression level of miR-122 in healthy control group,CHB group and HBV-HCC group was gradually decreased(P<0.05).According to the analysis of the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve,miR-122 has a high diagnostic value for HBV-HCC,especially when combined with AFP and PIVKA-Ⅱ.Stratified by the median miR-122 value,patients in the miR-122 low expression group(<0.521)had a significantly higher proportion of patients with hepatic fibrosis and had higher HBV DNA level(P<0.05).In addition,miR-122 level was significantly lower in HBV-HCC patients with hepatic fibrosis than that in HBV-HCC patients without hepatic fibrosis(P<0.05).During the follow-up period,33 HBV-HCC patients died and 3 were lost to follow-up.Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer(BCLC)stage B,incomplete tumor envelope,surgical margins>1 cm,and low miR-122 expression were independent factors affecting the death of patients with HCC(P<0.05).The overall survival time of the miR-122 high-expression group(≥0.521)of HCC patients[33.3(17.5,46.8)months]was significantly higher than that of the miR-122 low expression group[15.0(6.5,32.4)months](χ2=49.349,P=0.001).Conclusion Serum miR-122 may be involved in the progression of HBV-related hepatitis to HCC,and may be used as a biomarker for HBV-HCC and its prognosis.