Serum miR-95-3p is a diagnostic and prognostic marker for osteosarcoma

Abstract

It has been demonstrated that microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) can act as prognostic and diagnostic markers, and potential therapeutic targets. miR-95-3p has been reported to be downregulated in osteosarcoma tissues, but its potential as a serum biomarker has not been assessed in human osteosarcoma. The purpose of the present study was to examine the expression levels of miR-95-3p in serum of patients with osteosarcoma and to investigate the diagnostic and prognostic value of miR-95-3p. The serum levels of miR-95-3p in osteosarcoma patients were detected by a real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay. Associations between miR-95-3p expression and various clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed using Chi square test. Differences in patient survival were determined using the Kaplan-Meier method and a log-rank test. A Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used for multivariate analyses of prognostic values. Compared to healthy controls, the expression levels of miR-95-3p in serum of osteosarcoma patients were significantly decreased (P < 0.0001). Low miR-95-3p expression had significant association with clinical stage (P < 0.001) and metastasis (P < 0.001). The Kaplan-Meier curve showed that patients with high miR-95-3p expression survived significantly longer than patients with low miR-95-3p expression (P = 0.017). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that miR-95-3p expression level (P = 0.014) was an independent prognostic biomarker for overall survival. Our findings suggested that down-expression of serum miR-95-3p might be associated with poor prognosis of osteosarcoma patients, suggesting that decreased expression of serum miR-95-3p may serve as a valuable diagnostic/prognostic marker for osteosarcoma patients.

Keywords: Diagnosis; Osteosarcoma; Prognosis; Serum; miR-95-3p.

Fig. 1

The imaging features of osteosarcoma. a MRI findings included osteolytic destruction, joint effusion and soft tissue mass. b, c X-ray showed osteolytic bone destruction in proximal tibia. d, e Histological data showed fusiform osteosarcoma cells

Fig. 2

Diagnostic value of serum miR-95-3p expression for osteosarcoma patients. a Serum miR-95-3p expression levels in 133 osteosarcoma patients and 133 sex- and age-matched healthy controls were determined by qRT-PCR. The serum levels of miR-95-3p were significantly decreased in osteosarcoma patients in comparison with healthy controls. b ROC curve analysis showed that serum miR-95-3p was a novel potential biomarker for early diagnosis of osteosarcoma (AUC = 0.863)

Fig. 3

Kaplan-Meier survival curves for osteosarcoma patients with high or low expression of miR-95-3p. The overall survival curves and disease-free survival curves for two groups of osteosarcoma patients with low and high expression of serum miR-95-3p. a The overall survival rate of osteosarcoma patients with high miR-95-3p expression were significantly higher than those with low miR-95-3p expression (P = 0.017). b The disease-free survival rate of osteosarcoma patients with high miR-95-3p expression were significantly higher than those with low miR-95-3p expression (P = 0.008)