Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 23, 2025

Isolation and Profiling of MicroRNA-containing Exosomes from Human Bile
Published on: June 13, 2016
Serum exosomal microRNA-34a as a potential biomarker in epithelial ovarian cancer
Kazuya Maeda1, Hiroshi Sasaki2, Shoko Ueda2
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Osaka Medical College, Osaka, Japan. makiochi_0904@hotmail.com.
Background:
Ovarian cancer (OC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death in women, and thus an accurate diagnosis of the predisposition and its early detection is necessary. The aims of this study were to determine whether serum exosomal microRNA-34a (miR-34a) in ovarian cancer could be used as a potential biomarker.
Methods:
Exosomes from OC patients' serum were collected, and exosomal miRNAs were extracted. The relative expression of miR-34a was calculated from 58 OC samples by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.
Results:
Serum exosomal miR-34a levels were significantly increased in early-stage OC patients compared with advanced-stage patients. Its levels were significantly lower in patients with lymph node metastasis than in those with no lymph node metastasis. Furthermore, its levels in the recurrence group were significantly lower than those in the recurrence-free group.
Conclusions:
Serum exosomal miR-34a could be a potential biomarker for improving the diagnostic efficiency of OC.
Related Concept Videos
Overview of Exosomes
Stahl et al. discovered exosomes in 1983, but the exosomes were initially considered waste products released from the...
MicroRNAs
MicroRNAs

