A circulating serum miRNA panel as early detection biomarkers of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been demonstrated to play critical roles in regulating the molecular process of tumorigenesis. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to establish a panel of serum miRNA signature for early detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN).

One hundred and twenty-six patients with CIN and sixty healthy control subjects were recruited in this cohort study. Quantitative reverse transcript polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was conducted to detect the expression level of the panel of miRNA signature (miR-9, miR-10a, miR-20a and miR-196a) in the serum samples of all the participants. The association between HPV infection status and the expression levels of miRNAs was also evaluated. In addition, Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of the combination of these four serum miRNAs.

The expression levels of the four miRNAs (miR-9, miR-10a, miR-20a and miR-196a) were all significantly upregulated in the serum samples derived from the CIN patients compared with those from the healthy controls (p < 0.01). Also, HPV infection status was significantly correlated with the expression levels of miRNAs (p < 0.01). The ROC analysis showed that this four-miRNA signature showed high accuracy in discriminating CIN individuals (AUC = 0.886, p < 0.01) from healthy controls.

Taken together, our findings demonstrated that the panel of four serum miRNAs (miR-9, miR-10a, miR-20a and miR-196a) are useful and novel noninvasive biomarkers for early detection of CIN.