MicroRNA-335 represents an independent prognostic marker in cervical cancer

Advanced stages with distant metastases or recurrence lack reliable prognostic predictor for cervical cancer. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of miR-335 expression in cervical cancer. A total of 138 cervical cancer samples were collected, and normal cervical tissues were obtained as matched-pair controls. The level of miR-335 expression was examined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Overall survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier method. Moreover, the relationship between the expression of miR-335 and the clinicopathological features was further analyzed using Cox regression. Lower miR-335 expression was found in cervical cancer specimens. Cervical cancer patients with reduced miR-335 level had shorter survival time, compared with those with high levels of miR-335 expression (P = 0.011, log-rank = 6.458). Through Cox regression, we found that miR-335 expression was associated with the survival of cervical cancer (RR = 0.251, 95 % CI 0.095-0.663, P = 0.005). The results suggested that miR-335 expression was decreased in cervical cancer specimens and lower miR-335 expression resulted in poorer survival in patients with cervical cancer. Our findings indicated that miR-335 may be a candidate factor for predicting prognosis for cervical cancer.