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. 2025 Jun 15;15(6):2579-2594.
doi: 10.62347/AOJE4206. eCollection 2025.

Correlation and predictive modeling of serum exosomal miRNAs and serological biomarkers for lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer

Quandong Li  1 , Fang Nie  2 , Dezhi Huang  1 , Yongping Lin  1 , Junjie Wan  1
Affiliations

Correlation and predictive modeling of serum exosomal miRNAs and serological biomarkers for lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer

Quandong Li et al. Am J Cancer Res. .

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the predictive potential of serum exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) and traditional serological biomarkers for lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer and to assess their applicability in clinical practice.

Methods: This retrospective study included 845 gastric cancer patients treated between January 2020 and December 2023, as the training cohort. Patients were stratified into lymph node-positive (n = 231) and lymph node-negative (n = 614) groups based on postoperative pathological evaluation. Serum exosomal miRNAs and conventional serological biomarkers were quantified and compared between groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify independent predictors. Model performance was validated using an independent test cohort comprising 277 patients (74 lymph node-positive, 203 lymph node-negative).

Results: Patients with lymph node metastasis exhibited significantly elevated expression of miR-21, miR-20a, miR-27a, and miR-106a. Serological markers that were significantly higher in the lymph node positive group included carbohydrate antigen 724, carcinoembryonic antigen, hepatocyte growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, interleukin-6, and circulating cell-free DNA (all P < 0.05). A combined predictive model integrating both miRNA and serological data demonstrated strong diagnostic performance, with an area under the curve of 0.816 in the training cohort and 0.817 in the validation cohort.

Conclusion: Serum exosomal miRNAs and serological biomarkers are significantly associated with lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer.

Keywords: Gastric cancer; cancer prognosis; lymph node metastasis; prediction model; serological biomarkers; serum exosome miRNA.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of serum exosomal miRNA between two groups in the training set. A: miRNA-20a; B: miRNA-21; C: miRNA-27a; D: miRNA-106a. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001.
Figure 2
Figure 2
ROC curve of lymph node metastasis in the training set.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of serum exosomal miRNA in the test set. A: miRNA-20a; B: miRNA-21; C: miRNA-27a; D: miRNA-106a. ns: P > 0.05, *P < 0.05.
Figure 4
Figure 4
ROC curve of lymph node metastasis in the test set.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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