Relationship between serum miR-202 and miR-224 expression levels and postoperative recurrence in patients with primary liver cancer
Li Rong
Liu Yuanjun
Liu Shuang
Xiao Fan
Yang Xu
Zhang Yifang
Yang Min
Abstract：Objective To investigate the relationship between serum miR-202 and miR-224 expression levels and postopera-tive recurrence in patients with primary liver cancer.Methods A total of 156 primary liver cancer patients undergoing radi-cal hepatectomy at Suining Central Hospital(August 2019-August 2022)were assigned to recurrence and non-recurrence groups based on 2-year postoperative recurrence status.General data and serum miR-202/miR-224 expression levels were compared.Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were used to evaluate their predictive value for recurrence,and logistic regression analysis was adopted to identify recurrence risk factors.Results By August 2024,9/156 patients had died;among the remaining 147 patients,45 experienced recurrence and 102 did not.No significant differences were noted in gender,age,BMI,Child-Pugh grade,China Liver Cancer Staging(CNLC),or comorbidities between groups(P＞0.05).The recurrence group showed significantly higher proportions of 2-3 tumors,tumor diameter ≥5 cm,poor tumor differen-tiation,and preoperative AFP ≥400 ng/L(P＜0.05).Serum miR-202 expression was significantly lower while miR-224 was higher in the recurrence group than the non-recurrence group(P＜0.05).ROC analysis showed AUCs of 0.866(95％CI:0.800-0.916)for miR-202 and 0.813(95％CI:0.740-0.872)for miR-224,with sensitivities of 77.78％and 82.22％and specificities of 76.47％and 78.43％,respectively.Multivariate analysis identified miR-202 ≤0.21(OR=3.050,95％CI:1.962-4.740),miR-224 ≥3.00(OR=62.235,95％CI:4.954-781.784),poor differentiation(OR=8.028,95％CI:2.253-28.613),and preoperative AFP ≥400 ng/L(OR=3.127,95％CI:1.079-9.059)as risk factors for postoperative recurrence of primary liver cancer(P＜0.05).Conclusion Serum miR-202 and miR-224 demonstrate high predictive value for postoperative recurrence of primary liver cancer.Low miR-202 expression,high miR-224 expression,poor tumor differentiation,and elevated preoperative AFP are independent risk factors,providing insights for postoperative monitoring and personalized treatment strategies.
Keywords：Primary liver cancerRadical hepatectomyPostoperative recurrencemiR-202miR-224Influencing factorsPredictive value
Publication Date：2025-08-20
Online Publishing Date：2025-12-09(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 65-70 )