Mir-21 and Mir-125b as theranostic biomarkers for epithelial ovarian cancer in Tunisian women

Abstract

Background: Ovarian cancer (OC) is the third most common cancer in women and the leading cause of death associated with gynecologic tumors. Because this disease is asymptomatic in the early stages, most patients are not diagnosed until the late stages. This highlights the need for the development of diagnostic biomarkers. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), small non-coding RNAs, are currently being explored as potential biomarkers for the early detection of various malignancies in humans. However, their expression and diagnostic value in OC have not been well studied. Materials and Methods: the plasma levels of miR-21, miR-200a, miR-200b, miR-200c, miR-205 and miR-125b were determined in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) patients and healthy controls by Reverse Transcription Quantitative Realtime Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR). The expression levels of the deregulated microRNAs were analysed according to clinical characteristics. Results: It was found that miR-21 and miR-125b were upregulated in EOC compared with healthy controls. Moreover, decreased miR-125b was associated with resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy. Conclusions: Our data suggest that miR-21 and miR-125b in plasma may serve as potential circulating biomarkers for the early detection of EOC. MiR-125b may also be useful for predicting chemosensitivity in EOC patients. Keywords: Epithelial ovarian cancer; miRNAs; biomarkers; resistance to treatment; Tunisia.