MicroRNA-378a-3p Downregulation as a Novel Biomarker with Poor Clinical Outcomes in Cervical Cancer.

OBJECTIVE:Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in gynecology. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of serum microRNA (miR)-378a-3p in CC and the effect of miR-378a-3p on tumor growth. METHODS:Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis was used to measure the expression of miR-378a-3p in serum from patients with CC and healthy control subjects as well as from CC tissues and adjacent normal tissues. The association between serum miR-378a-3p levels and clinicopathological factors was analyzed. The correlation between miR-378a-3p levels and overall survival (OS) of CC patients was determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis. The CC cell proliferation and migration abilities after transfection of miR-378a-3p mimics were detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 and scratch wound healing assays, respectively. Tumor volume and weight in mice treated with miR-378a-3p were measured using a caliper and an electronic balance. RESULTS:MiR-378a-3p expression was downregulated in the serum and tissues of CC patients compared to that in healthy control subjects and normal tissues, respectively. Low expression of miR-378a-3p was positively correlated with large tumor size, advanced tumor stage, and lymph node metastasis. The OS of patients with low expression of miR-378a-3p was significantly lower than that of patients with high expression. Overexpression of miR-378a-3p suppressed the proliferation and migration of CC cells. In vivostudies indicated that overexpression of miR-378a-3p was associated with decreased tumor volume and weight in mice. CONCLUSION:MiR-378a-3p downregulation is associated with the development and prognosis of CC, suggesting that it may be a potential biomarker for CC.

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