The diagnostic value of miR-21 combined with CT in patients with liver cancer

To explore the diagnostic value of miR-21 combined with computed tomography (CT) in patients with liver cancer.

A total of 112 patients in our hospital were confirmed liver cancer by examination, and were collected as cancer group. Another 100 patients with hepatic focal nodular hyperplasia in the same period were collected as control group. The diagnostic value of miR-21 and CT on liver cancer was observed.

The level of miR-21 in cancer group was significantly higher than that in control group, the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level was tested. It was found that the AFP level in cancer group was significantly higher than that in control group (p < 0.001). The correlation between AFP and miR-21 levels in liver cancer patients was detected. It turned out that AFP and miR-21 had correlation. According to receiver operating curve (ROC) calculation results, the best cut-off value for miR-21 diagnosis was 4.142. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of diagnosis of miR-21 alone were 64.29%, 87.00% and 75.00%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of diagnosis of CT alone were 91.07%, 62.00% and 77.36%, respectively. There were 108 cases of true positive and 80 cases of true negative after combined diagnosis in the two groups. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of combined diagnosis were 96.43%, 80.00% and 88.68%, respectively. Comparing the value of single diagnosis and combined diagnosis, we found that the accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of combined diagnosis were significantly higher than that of single diagnosis (p < 0.05).

CT combined with miR-21 has great diagnostic value in liver cancer and may be a potential diagnostic indicator for liver cancer.