Diagnostic and prognostic value of plasma microRNA-195 in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND Recently, circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to be stably detectable in plasma/serum and to function as potent biomarkers in various cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression level of plasma miRNA-195 in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and investigate its diagnostic and prognostic value. METHODS Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to evaluate plasma miRNA-195 levels in 100 NSCLC patients and 100 healthy volunteers. The association between miRNA-195 expression and clinicopathological factors as well as the overall survival was analyzed. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was carried out to assess the potential value of plasma miRNA-195 for NSCLC diagnosis. RESULTS Plasma miRNA-195 was downregulated in NSCLC patients compared with healthy controls (P < 0.001). Decreased plasma miRNA-195 expression was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis and advanced clinical stage. ROC curve analysis showed that plasma miRNA-195 was a useful marker for NSCLC diagnosis. Multivariate Cox regression analysis confirmed low plasma miRNA-195 expression as an independent unfavorable prognostic factor for NSCLC patients. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that plasma miRNA-195 might serve as a promising biomarker for the early detection and prognosis evaluation of NSCLC.