Evaluation of the diagnostic value of a three-miRNA panel in prostate cancer: a discovery and validation study

Abstract

Background: PSA is widely used in prostate cancer screening. However, false-positive PSA results can lead to misdiagnosis and wrong puncture biopsy, while false-negative PSA results can result in missed diagnosis and delayed treatment. There is an urgent need to find convenient, economical and non-invasive diagnostic methods to reduce the false-negative and false-positive rates of PSA. The aim of this study was to discover new miRNA panels to detect prostate cancer. Materials and method: We selected 10 miRNAs in the literature that were associated with prostate cancer. Afterwards, we measured the expression levels of these miRNAs in serum of 112 prostate cancer patients and healthy controls through a training phase and a validation phase. By plotting receiver operating characteristic curve, the miRNAs with the highest diagnosis value were chosen. Then, a set of miRNAs with the top diagnostic value was identified using stepwise logistic regression. Results: The findings showed that 5 kinds of miRNAs (let-7b-5p, miR-15a-5p, miR-133a-3p, miR-15b-5p, miR-144-3p) were abnormally expressed in the serum of prostate cancer patients. The diagnostic panel constructed with these 3 miRNAs including let-7b-5p, miR-15a-5p miR-15b-5p and which have high specificity and sensitivity in detecting prostate cancer (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.899). Furthermore, the genes FAM107A and TAF1C may be potential therapeutic targets for prostate cancer. Conclusions: A three-microRNA panel has an important diagnostic value in prostate cancer and is expected to serve as diagnostic biomarker for prostate cancer. Furthermore, the genes FAM107A and TAF1C may be potential therapeutic targets for prostate cancer.