Serum miRNA-27a and miRNA-18b as potential predictive biomarkers of hepatitis C virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains the main risk factor for chronic hepatitis (CHC), liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Changes in microRNA (miRNA) profiles can be associated with HCV infection and may either favor or inhibit the virus and/or its complication. Moreover, miRNAs have emerged as key regulators of various cancers including HCC. The aim of this work was to investigate thepotentail role of miRNA-27a and miRNA-18b expression levelsas non-invasive predictive biomarkers of hepatitis C virus-associated HCC. Furthermore, we aimed to explore potential association of these miRNAs expressionswith HCC clinicopathological features' in Egyptian cases. This case control study included 200 participants [60 CHC patients, 39 post-HCV cirrhosispatients, 51 HCCcases], and 50 healthy volunteers. The serum miRNA-27a and miRNA-18b expression profiles were measured using quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). miRNA-27a and miRNA-18b expressionlevels were significantly increased in post-hepatitis C cirrhosiscases compared to control and CHC groups. In HCC group, only miRNA-27a expression levels were significantly increased. Moreover, miRNA-27a and miRNA-18b expression levels were positively correlated with distant metastasis, Child-Pugh grade, and lymph node metastasis. Logistic regression analysis revealed that miRNA-27a expressionwas an independent predictor of cirrhosis among CHC. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses showed that miRNA-27a and miRNA-18b expressionlevels were useful biomarkers discriminating cirrhosis from CHC (AUC were 0.672 and 0.487, respectively), and in differentiating HCC from post-hepatitis C cirrhosis (AUC were 0.897 and 0.723, respectively). By combined ROC analysis, power of miRNA-27a and miRNA-18b expression levels as discriminator between HCC from post-hepatitis C cirrhosis was high (AUC=0.0.821). Serum microRNA-27a and miRNA-18b expression levels are promising diagnostic and non-invasive biomarkers of CHC, post-CHC cirrhosis, and HCC.