MicroRNA-148b expression is decreased in hepatocellular carcinoma and associated with prognosis

MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNA molecules that have been shown to regulate the expression of genes linked to cancer. MicroRNA-148a (miR-148a) has recently been found to be involved in many critical processes in human malignancies. The present study is to clarify the expression pattern and prognostic role of miR-148b in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The expression of miR-148b was detected in 156 cases of HCC and 36 cases of normal control specimens by real-time PCR. Results showed that miR-148b expression was significantly decreased in HCC compared with that in normal control. It was also demonstrated that aberrant miR-148b expression was associated with vein invasion and TNM stage of HCC. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that decreased miR-148b expression was associated with poor overall survival of patients. A multivariate survival analysis also indicated that miR-148b could be an independent prognostic marker. These results proved that miR-148b expression was decreased in HCC and associated with tumor invasion and progression. The present study also provides the first evidence that miR-148b could be an independent prognostic factor for patients with HCC, indicating the potential role of miR-148b as a prognostic marker in clinical practice, and the inhibition of miR-148b may even become a new therapeutic method for the treatment of HCC.