miR-21 microRNA expression in human gastric carcinomas and its clinical association

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of endogenous small non-coding RNAs that have been shown to be aberrantly expressed in many human carcinomas. Of these miRNAs, miR-21 appears to be important in tumorigenesis given its up-regulation in almost all types of human cancer examined. However, its association with the clinicopathological features of human gastric cancer has yet to be addressed.

Cancer tissues and corresponding normal tissues from 37 patients with gastric cancer were examined for the expression level of miR-21 using quantitative PCR and the clinical relevance of miR-21 was statistically analyzed.

miR-21 was overexpressed in 92% (34/37) of the gastric cancer samples examined. However, the patients with higher miR-21 expression did not have a worse prognosis.

miR-21 could serve as an efficient diagnostic marker for gastric cancer, but does not affect the clinical prognosis of gastric cancer patients.