miR-21 and miR-145 as Prognostic Biomarkers for Radiotherapy Responses in Cervical Cancer Patients: A Preliminary Study

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 25; no. 19; p. 10545
• Main Authors: Putra, Andi D, Andrijono, Winarto, Hariyono, Prijanti, Ani R, Rachmadi, Lisnawati, Pakasi, Trevino A, Gandamihardja, Supriadi, Wirasugianto, Jourdan, Amelia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.10.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; biomarker; Biomarkers; Biomarkers, Tumor - genetics; Cancer; Cancer patients; Cancer therapies; Cell growth; Cervical cancer; Chemotherapy; Cross-Sectional Studies; Development and progression; Female; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; Kinases; Lung cancer; Metastasis; microRNA-145; microRNA-21; MicroRNAs - genetics; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Staging; Oncology, Experimental; Prognosis; Proteins; Radiation therapy; Radiation Tolerance - genetics; radioresistance; Radiotherapy; Squamous cell carcinoma; Statistical significance; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Tumors; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - genetics; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - pathology; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - radiotherapy; Indonesia; microRNA-145; biomarker; cervical cancer; microRNA-21; radioresistance
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms251910545

Radioresistance poses a significant challenge in the effective treatment of cervical cancer, often leading to poor patient outcomes. MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) and MicroRNA-145 (miR-145) are oncogenic micro-RNAs associated with various cancers, including cervical cancer, but their potential as predictive biomarkers for radioresistance remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the association between miR-21 and miR-145 expressions and the response to radiation therapy in cervical cancer patients. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 140 subjects with cervical cancer stages IIIB and IVA who received definitive radiotherapy. miR-21 and miR-145 expressions were measured using real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). A total of 102 subjects (72.9%) were classified as having stage III cervical cancer, and 38 subjects (27.1%) were classified as having stage IV cervical cancer. Disease progression occurred in 60.7% of subjects. The cut-off value for miR-21 expression was 0.00088 nmol/(mg/mL) (AUC 0.676, sensitivity 70.8%, specificity 50.8%), and a higher expression was significantly associated with radioresistance ( = 0.010). miR-145, with a cut-off of 0.0239 nmol/(mg/mL) (AUC 0.612, sensitivity 67.5%, specificity 45.5%), showed no significant association with treatment response ( = 0.132). Combining miR-21 and miR-145 (AUC 0.639, sensitivity 68.6%, specificity 46.9%, = 0.063) did not significantly improve the predictive accuracy. This study suggests that an elevated miR-21 expression is significantly associated with radioresistance in cervical cancer patients, while miR-145 expression shows no significant correlation with treatment response. Additionally, combining miR-21 and miR-145 does not enhance the predictive power.