Serum miR-۲۳ and miR-۱۵۰ Profiles as Biomarkers for Predicting Recurrence following Surgical Intervention in Colorectal Cancer Patients

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play pivotal roles in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression and have emerged as crucial regulators in cancer development, progression, and metastasis. This study aimed to assess the expression profiles of miR-۲۳, miR-۲۲۳, miR-۱۲۴۶, and miR-۱۵۰ in serum samples obtained from colorectal cancer (CRC) patients before and three months after surgery, in comparison to a healthy control group, to explore their biomarker potential. Methods: A total of ۵۰ blood samples were collected from patients with CRC (pre- and post-surgery), along with ۵۰ samples from healthy controls. The relative expression levels of miR-۲۳, miR-۲۲۳, miR-۱۲۴۶, and miR-۱۵۰ in the serum were quantified using quantitative real-time PCR. Results: Our findings revealed upregulated expression levels of miR-۲۳, miR-۱۲۴۶, and miR-۲۲۳, while miR-۱۵۰ exhibited significant downregulation in the serum of CRC subjects compared to healthy controls. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated that miR-۲۳ and miR-۱۵۰ could distinguish CRC cases from controls with relatively high accuracy. Moreover, three months post-surgery, miR-۲۳, miR-۱۲۴۶, and miR-۲۲۳ serum levels were downregulated, and miR-۱۵۰ was significantly upregulated. However, no significant correlations were observed between serum levels of the studied genes and the clinical features of our patients. Conclusions: The serum levels of miR-۲۳ and miR-۱۵۰ hold promise as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of CRC.

Keywords:

Biomarker , Colorectal cancer , micro-RNAs , Tumorigenesis.