Serum miRNA-34a serves as a diagnostic and prognostic bio-marker in osteosarcoma

Background: MicroRNA-34a (miR-34a) had been reported to be decreased in osteosarcoma, but its effects on diagnosis and prognosis were still unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression and clinical significance of miR-34a in osteosarcoma. Methods: The expression of miR-34a in tissues and serum of all patients and controls was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay, respectively. Besides, the relationship between miR-34a expression and clinicopathologic characteristics were analyzed. The association between miR-34a expression and overall survival of patients with osteosarcoma was analyzed KaplanMeier analysis. The prognostic value of miR-34a was estimated via cox regression analysis. Results: The expression level of miR-34a was decreased in osteosarcoma tissues and serum compared with the controls. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve demonstrated miR-34a could be a diagnostic factor in osteosarcoma with an AUC of corresponding with a sensitivity of and a specificity of. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that patients with high miR-34a expression had a longer overall survival than those with low expression (Log rank test, P<0.001). According to cox regression analysis, miR-34a was considered as an independent prognostic marker in osteosarcoma. Conclusion: miR-34a expression was down-regulated in osteosarcoma and associated with tumor progression. Moreover, its abnormal expression made it can be an independent diagnostic and prognostic bio-marker for osteosarcoma patients.