Serum miR-210 as a novel biomarker for molecular diagnosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Objective

Our objective was to evaluate the levels of miR-210 in tumor and serum samples of conventional renal cell cancer (cRCC) patients to explore whether circulating miR-210 in serum can be used as a biomarker for the detection of cRCC.

Methods

The paired samples from primary cRCC tumors and adjacent non-tumoral renal parenchyma were collected from 32 patients with cRCC. Serum samples were obtained from 68 patients with a cRCC before surgery, 10 samples after one week of surgery, and 42 healthy individuals were included in this study. Real-time PCR was used to measure the microRNA level. The expression of miRNAs was normalized using the dCT method. Expression levels of miR-210 were compared using the Mann–Whitney U test or Wilcoxon test. Diagnostic performance of serum miR-210 level was calculated by using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.

Results

The average miR-210 level was higher in primary cRCC tissues than in normal tissue (p = 0.004). For serum samples, the average level of miR-210 was significantly higher in cRCC patients than in controls (p < 0.001). The serum miR-210 level yielded an AUC (the areas under the ROC curve) of 0.874 with a sensitivity of 81.0% and a specificity of 79.4%. Furthermore, the average serum level of miR-210 was significantly decreased in the patients one week after the operation (p = 0.001).

Conclusion

Serum mi-210 may have a potential as a novel noninvasive biomarker for the detection of cRCC.