Oncogenic microRNA-1290 and Gene as Potential Biomarker for Colorectal Carcinoma

Abstract

Introduction Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the world's third most frequent cancer, with a significant mortality rate due to late detection. There is a need to search for biomarkers that can detect colorectal cancer at an early stage. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate several targets that function as oncogenes and/or tumor suppressor genes, so any change in microRNA expression level can predict abnormality. Objective The objective of the study was to evaluate the expression of miR-1290, and Suppressor of cancer cell invasion ( SCAI ) gene that may be used as biomarkers for early diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma. Methodology This study included 50 subjects consisting of newly diagnosed colorectal carcinoma patients ( n = 25), and healthy controls ( n = 25). After RNA isolation and reverse transcription, the expression level of miR-1290 and SCAI gene in the tissues and plasma samples of CRC patients were analyzed using real time PCR and compared with healthy individuals as normal controls. The 2 −ΔΔCt formula was used to compute the fold-change, while using miR-16 and GAPDH as reference genes for normalization. Results We found that miR-1290 is upregulated, whereas SCAI gene is downregulated in both plasma and tissue samples of CRC patients. For miR-1290, the sensitivity was 96% and specificity was 100%, and for SCAI, 100% sensitivity and 88% specificity was calculated by ROC analysis. Conclusion The expression of miR-1290 and SCAI gene may be utilized as biomarkers for diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma.