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©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Nov 27, 2014; 6(11): 818-824
Published online Nov 27, 2014. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v6.i11.818
Published online Nov 27, 2014. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v6.i11.818
Circulating microRNA, miR-122 and miR-221 signature in Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C related hepatocellular carcinoma
Hassan El-Garem, Ayman Ammer, Hany Shehab, Wafaa El-Akel, Heba Omar, Mohammed Anwar, Endemic Medicine and Hepatology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo 12613, Egypt
Olfat Shaker, Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo 12613, Egypt
Author contributions: El-Garem H contributed to the study design, revision; Ammer A contributed to the study design; Shehab H contributed to the study design and drafting the manuscript; Shaker O contributed to the study design, biochemical analysis of samples; Anwer M contributed to the drafting manuscript and revision; El-Akel W contributed to the study design and statistical analysis; Omar H contributed to the study design, samples and data collection, manuscript drafting.
Correspondence to: Heba Omar, Msc, PhD, Endemic Medicine and Hepatology Department, Faculty of medicine, 16 Azam Street, Helwan, Cairo 12613, Egypt. hebaomar1202@hotmail.com
Telephone: +20-2-01007032146
Received: April 25, 2014
Revised: October 10, 2014
Accepted: October 23, 2014
Published online: November 27, 2014
Revised: October 10, 2014
Accepted: October 23, 2014
Published online: November 27, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: In the current study a signature of circulating miRNAs (miR-122 and miR-221) was evaluated. miR-221 was differentially expressed between patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and those without (chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis) with lower serum level of miR-221 in former group of patients in comparison to later one. miR-221 yielded 87% sensitivity and 40% specificity in differentiating between both groups at a cutoff 1.82 folds. The present study emphasizes that circulating miR-221 deserves further attention as a potential non-invasive biomarkers for hepatocellular carcinoma.