Plasma MicroRNA-21, 26a, and 29a-3p as Predictive Markers for Treatment Response Following Transarterial Chemoembolization in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
BACKGROUND
We investigated an association between the levels of plasma microRNA (miRNA)-21, -26a, and -29a-3p and treatment outcomes following transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).


METHODS
A total of 198 patients with TACE-treated HCC were followed up for TACE refractoriness and liver transplantation (LT)-free survival. Pretreatment plasma miRNA-21, -26a, and -29a-3p levels were measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.


RESULTS
During the mean follow-up of 22.3 (range, 0.7-79) months, 118 (59.6%) patients exhibited TACE refractoriness. Multivariate analyses showed that expression of a specific combination of miRNAs (miRNA-21 ≥ 2.5, miRNA-26a ≥ 1.5, and miRNA-29a-3p < 0.4) was associated with early TACE refractoriness (within 1 year; hazard ratio [HR], 2.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-4.99; P = 0.031) together with tumor size (HR, 4.62; 95% CI, 1.50-14.21; P = 0.008), and macrovascular invasion (HR, 3.80; 95% CI, 1.19-12.20; P = 0.025). However, miRNA-21, -26a, and -29a-3p levels were not significantly associated with overall TACE refractoriness or LT-free survival. Additionally, large tumor size and macrovascular invasion were common predictive factor of overall TACE refractoriness and survival.


CONCLUSION
Combination of plasma miRNA-21, -26a, and -29a-3p expression could predict early TACE refractoriness in patients with TACE-treated HCC.
['Kim|Soon Sun|SS|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6862-1896', 'Cho|Hyo Jung|HJ|https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4792-8335', 'Nam|Ji Sun|JS|https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8655-5258', 'Kim|Hyun Ji|HJ|https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7959-2763', 'Kang|Dae Ryong|DR|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8792-9730', 'Won|Je Hwan|JH|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5901-295X', 'Kim|Jinoo|J|https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7238-2528', 'Kim|Jai Keun|JK|https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0767-6655', 'Lee|Jei Hee|JH|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2231-820X', 'Kim|Bo Hyun|BH|https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1157-415X', 'Lee|Mi Young|MY|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0171-967X', 'Cho|Sung Won|SW|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0232-0492', 'Cheong|Jae Youn|JY|https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6246-1783']
D000368:Aged D019540:Area Under Curve D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular D016461:Chemoembolization, Therapeutic D004317:Doxorubicin D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008113:Liver Neoplasms D008297:Male D035683:MicroRNAs D008875:Middle Aged D009367:Neoplasm Staging D016016:Proportional Hazards Models D012372:ROC Curve D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction D015996:Survival Rate
MicroRNAs Carcinoma, Hepatocellular Chemoembolization, Therapeutic Hepatitis B, Chronic