Expression and prognostic value of miR-92a in patients with gastric cancer

MicroRNA (miR)-92 expression is often aberrant in human cancers. However, its expression in gastric carcinoma and its relation to clinicopathological features and prognosis are unclear.

Tissue microarrays were constructed from 180 patients with gastric cancer (GC), who were undergoing radical resection. MiR-92a expression was detected using miRNA-locked nucleic acid in situ hybridization, and its correlation with clinicopathological features and overall survival was analyzed. MiR-92a expression was decreased in 13.9 % (25/180) of GC, increased in 81.1 % (146/180), and unchanged in 5.0 % (9/180), compared with paracancerous normal tissue (P < 0.001). Univariate analysis showed that high miR-92a expression, tumor stage, tumor status, node status, and tumor size were significant negative prognostic predictors for overall survival in patients with GC (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, P = 0.008, P < 0.001, and P = 0.001, respectively). High miR-92a expression still remained a significant predictor of shorter survival in stage II (n = 56, P = 0.001) and stage III (n = 92, P = 0.009) GC. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that tumor status (hazard ratio [HR], 3.10; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.51–6.37; P = 0.002), stage (HR, 3.54; 95 % CI, 1.65–7.63; P = 0.000), lymph node metastasis (HR, 2.83; 95 % CI, 1.88–4.28; P = 0.000), high expression of miR-92a (HR, 2.94; 95 % CI, 2.01–4.31; P = 0.000), and tumor size (HR, 2.34; 95 % CI, 1.45–3.79; P = 0.002) predicted shorter OS.

High expression of miR-92a compared with adjacent normal tissues was associated with shorter OS. MiR-92a may thus be useful for evaluating prognosis and may provide a novel treatment target in patients with GC.