Plasma-Derived miRNA-222 as a Candidate Marker for Papillary Thyroid Cancer

We analyzed five miRNA molecules (miR-221
miR-222
miR-146b
miR-21
miR-181b) in the plasma of patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), nodular goiter (NG) and healthy controls (HC) and evaluated their diagnostic value for differentiation of PTC from NG and HC. Preoperative PTC plasma miRNA expression (n = 49) was compared with plasma miRNA in the HC group (n = 57) and patients with NG (n = 23). It was demonstrated that miR-221
miR-21 and miR-181b were overexpressed in preoperative PTC plasma samples compared to HC (p &lt
0.0001
p &lt
0.002
respectively). The upregulation in tumor tissue of these miRNAs was consistent with The Cancer Genome Atlas Thyroid Carcinoma dataset. A significant decrease in miR-21
miR-221
miR-146b and miR-181b expression was observed in the plasma of PTC patients after total thyroidectomy (p = 0.004
p = 0.001
p = 0.03
p = 0.036
respectively). The levels of miR-222 were significantly higher in the preoperative PTC compared to the NG group (p = 0.004). ROC curve (receiver operating characteristic curve) analysis revealed miR-222 as a potential marker in distinguishing PTC from NG (AUC 0.711
p = 0.004). In conclusion
circulating miR-222 profiles might be useful in discriminating PTC from NG.