Identification of Serum microRNA-25 as a novel biomarker for pancreatic cancer

Abstract

To identify serum microRNA-25 (miR-25) as a diagnostic biomarker for pancreatic cancer (PCa) and to evaluate its supplementary role with serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) in early identification of cancers. Eighty patients with pancreatic cancer and 91 non-cancer controls were enrolled in this study. Quantitative reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the expression level of miR-25. Levels of CA19-9, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) were measured by chemiluminescent immunoassay. The logistic model was established to evaluate the correlation of miR-25 with clinical characteristics. A risk model for PCa was conducted by R statistical software. Diagnostic utility for PCa and correlation with clinical characteristics were analyzed. The expression level of miR-25, in the PCa group was significantly higher (P