Abstract: Objective To detect the expression levels of miR-17-92 cluster(miR-17, miR-18a, miR-19a, miR-19b, miR-20a and miR-92a)in the serum from patients with cervical cancer(CC)and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia(CIN), and to evaluate their clinical significance in the early diagnosis of human papillomavirus(HPV)positive cervical cancer. Methods Serum samples were collected from 150 HPV positive CC patients(cancer group), 100 HPV-positive patients with CIN1-3(CIN group)and 50 HPV-positive women without malignant disease(control group). RT-qPCR was performed to analyze the expression levels of serum miR-17-92 cluster. The diagnostic values of the differently expressed miRNAs were evaluated and compared with Thinprep cytologic test(TCT). Results The expression 山 东 大 学 学 报 (医 学 版)55卷5期 -刘京康,等.血清miR-17-92簇在HPV阳性宫颈癌中的早期诊断价值 \=-of serum miR-18a and miR-92a were significantly higher in CC group than in CIN group and control group; the expression of serum miR-18a and miR-92a were significantly higher in CIN group than in control group; the expression of miR-18a was significantly higher in CIN1-2 patients than in control group(all P<0.05). Receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis revealed that the area under the curve(AUC)of serum miR-18a, miR-92a and TCT for identifying CIN3 and CC(CIN3+)was 0.792(95%CI: 0.749-0.862; sensitivity: 87%; specificity: 65%), 0.799(95%CI: 0.744-0.847; sensitivity: 55.8%; specificity: 92%)and 0.645(95%CI: 0.582-0.704; sensitivity: 51.9%; specificity: 77%), respectively. Compared with TCT, detection of serum miR-18a and miR-92a achieved higher performance efficiency for identifying CIN3+(all P<0.01). Conclusion MiR-18a and miR-92a, the members of miR-17-92 cluster, are highly expressed in the serum of HPV-positive patients with cervical cancer, and could serve as potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of cervical neoplasia and high-grade CIN identification.

Key words: Cervical cancer, Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, MiR-17-92 cluster, Human papillomavirus, Serum