Prognostic significance of serum miR-193b in colorectal cancer

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been demonstrated to be potential diagnostic and prognostic markers for many types of cancers including colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of current study was to determine the clinical significance of serum miR-193b in CRC. The expression of serum miR-193b in CRC patients and healthy controls was detected by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Then the value of serum miR-193b as marker for CRC prognosis was evaluated. Our results showed that the expression levels of serum miR-193b were significantly reduced in CRC patients compared to healthy volunteers. Serum miR-193b discriminated CRC patients from healthy subjects with high accuracy. In addition, serum miR-193b levels were increased in CRC patients who received surgery treatment. Low serum miR-193b was associated with TNM stage, grade and lymph node metastasis. The overall/disease free survival time of patients with low serum miR-193b expression was significantly shorter compared to those with high serum miR-193b expression. Moreover, multivariate analysis showed that low serum miR-193b level predicted poor prognosis independently. These findings indicate that serum miR-193b serves as a promising novel prognostic biomarker for CRC.