Dual-parameter liquid biopsy using plasma miR-21-5p and T cell LAIR-1 mean fluorescence intensity for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis in a high-risk Egyptian cohort

Table 4 Circulating microRNA expression levels across the study groups

Biomarker	HCC (n = 70)	Cirrhosis (n = 60)	Control (n = 81)	P value
hsa-miR-21-5p	34.0 (32.5)	6.0 (5.25)	0.6 (0.6)	< 0.001
hsa-miR-155-5p	5.1 (2.2)	2.35 (1.23)	0.9 (0.5)	< 0.001

Values are presented as median (interquartile range). P values were calculated using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Relative expression was calculated using the 2^-ΔΔCt method with SNORD68 as the endogenous control. HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma.