The expression and clinical significance of miR-132 in gastric cancer patients

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE miR-132 plays a role in regulating neuronal morphology and cellular excitability. Little is known about the effects of miR-132 in cancer. The aim of this study is to evaluate the expression of miR-132 and its clinical significance in gastric cancer. METHODS Cancerous tissues and corresponding normal tissues from 79 patients with gastric cancer were examined for the expression of miR-132 using quantitative PCR and the association between miR-132 expression levels and clinicopathological factors and prognosis was analyzed. RESULTS In 79 clinical samples of gastric cancer patients, miR-132 expression levels in cancer tissues were significantly higher than those in the corresponding normal tissues (P = 0.001). Higher expression levels of miR-132 were associated with more frequent lymph node metastasis (P = 0.033), more lymphatic tumor emboli (P = 0.007), and more advanced stage (P = 0.016). Additionally, expression of miR-132 was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (P = 0.020). CONCLUSION miR-132 could serve as an efficient prognostic factor for gastric cancer patients. VIRTUAL SLIDES The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/8168577241196050.