Introduction:
MicroRNA (miRNA) recently evolved as potential cancer biomarkers, in particular miRNA-182
is known to hold an oncogenic function in liver, lung and breast cancer. However,
to our knowledge the prognostic impact of miRNA-182 in oral squamous cell carcinoma
(OSCC) is still unexplored. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the
prognostic value of miRNA-182 and its predicted target gene Kinectin 1 (KTN1) in OSCC.
Methods:
Expression of miRNA-182 was analyzed in fresh frozen tumor tissue (n = 36) and healthy
oral mucosal tissue (n = 17) using semiquantitative real-time PCR. The expression
of the target gene KTN1 was detected via immunohistochemistry. Results were validated
in a cohort of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) for OSCC.
Results:
miRNA-182 was significantly upregulated in OSCC (RFC = 1.75; p < 0.001). After dividing
the data into a subgroup with high and low expression, a significant better survival
was observed in an upregulation of miRNA-182 (overall survival (OS): hazard ratio
(HR)= 0.19; 95% confidence interval (95% CI)= 0.04 – 0.86; p = 0.016; recurrence free
survival (RFS): HR = 0; 95% CI = 0-inf; p = 0.01; progression free survival (PFS):
HR = 0.2; 95% CI = 0.06 – 0.68; p = 0.004). Expression of the target gene KTN1 showed
a reciprocal impact on the prognosis (RFS: HR = 2.51; 95% CI = 1.02 – 6.17; p = 0.038;
PFS: HR = 2.67; 95% CI = 1.16 – 6.16; p = 0.017). Validation in a TCGA-cohort found
comparable findings (miRNA-182 OS: HR = 0.48; 95% CI = 0.23 – 0.99; p = 0.043; KTN1
OS: HR = 2.14; 95% CI = 1.04 – 4.4; p = 0.035).
Conclusion:
The classification into prognostic groups via analysis of expression rates of miRNA-182
and KTN1 is feasible; hence, miRNA-182 and KTN1 serve as potential prognostic oncologic
markers in OSCC.
