Circulating microRNA, miR-122 and miR-221 signature in Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C related hepatocellular carcinoma

Table 1 Demographic parameters of patients

	HCC (n = 30)	Cirrhosis (n = 30)	CH (n = 30)	Normal (n = 10)	P value
Age (yr) Mean ± SD	60.27 ± 8.20C	55.07 ± 7.35B	38.20 ± 8.21A	40.89 ± 16.85A	≤ 0.001
Gender (male)	25 (83.3)	21 (70)	22 (73.3)	6 (66.7)	0.6
Hb (g/dL )	11.44 ± 2.85B	10.53 ± 2.00B	14.23 ± 1.58A	14.03 ± 2.48A	< 0.001
WBC × 103/mm3	5.73 ± 2.56A	7.08 ± 3.77A	6.15 ± 2.13A	7.38 ± 2.72A	0.217
Platelets 10/mm3D	126.00 ± 74.05B	116.10 ± 68.94B	228.80 ± 59.74A	271.3 ± 116.7A	< 0.001
Total bilirubin (0.1-1.2 mg/dL)	1.88 ± 2.01A	4.29 ± 6.75B	0.74 ± 0.26A	0.79 ± 0.36A	< 0.001
ALT (0-42 IU/L)	66.59 ± 44.59B	32.15 ± 23.59A	66.78 ± 36.56B	29.16 ± 19.96A	< 0.001
AST (0-42 IU/L)	119.99 ± 56.12B	63.81 ± 39.49A	59.67 ± 45.04A	45.64 ± 54.32A	< 0.001
ALP (0-290 IU/L)D	394.8 ± 282.28A	304.89 ± 191.85A	203.58 ± 82.37AB	198.8 ± 139.1B	0.003
Albumin (3.5-5.5 g/dL)D	3.16 ± 0.40C	2.49 ± 0.54B	4.22 ± 0.36A	4.09 ± 0.92A	< 0.001
PC %	69.63 ± 16.25C	51.58 ± 17.12B	88.24 ± 10.89A	97.63 ± 11.77A	< 0.001
AFP log10 ng/dL	2.50 ± 1.19B	0.79 ± 0.54A	0.59 ± 0.38A	NA	< 0.001

^A,B,C,DGroups with different letters show significant difference, those with similar letters show no significant difference. HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; NA: Not applicable. CH: Chronic hepatitis C.

Table 2 Tumor-related characteristics (n = 30)

	Parameter	Number (%)
AFP level (0-10)	Normal	4 (13.4%)
	Elevated	26 (86.6%)
PS	PS 0	24 (80)
	PS 1-2	4 (13.4)
	PS > 2	2 (6)
BCLC	Stage 0	0 (0)
	Stage A	1 (3.8)
	Stage B	19 (73.1)
	Stage C	4 (15.4)
	Stage D	2 (7.7)
Number of focal lesions	Single	17 (56.7)
	Multiple	13 (43.4)
Site of focal lesions	Right lobe	18 (60)
	Left lobe	5 (16.7)
	Both	7 (23.3)
Tumor size by CT	< 3 cm	1 (3.3)
	3-5 cm	12 (40)
	> 5 cm	17 (56.7)
Portal vein invasion	Yes	7 (23.3)
	No	23 (76.7)

PS: Performance status; AFP: Alfa-fetoprotein; CT: Computed tomography.

Table 3 MiR-122 serum levels in the different groups

Fold of change comparing to normal
Group	HCCn = 30	Cirrhosisn = 30	CHn= 30	P value
miR-122 (IQR)	2.15 (7.3)	0.8 (3.7)	2.1 (9)	< 0.01
				0.0831
				0.5722
				0.4173
Group	HCC n = 30	Non HCC (CH + cirrhosis) n = 60		P value
miR-122 (IQR)	2.15 (7.3)	1.75 (6.8)		0.21 (NS)

¹HCC vs cirrhosis;

²HCC vs CH;

³Cirrhosis vs CH. HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; CH: Chronic hepatitis C; IQR: Inter quartile range; NS: Non significant; PVP: Positive predictive value; NVP: Negative predictive value.

Table 4 MiR-221 serum levels

Fold of change in comparison to normal
HCCn = 30	Cirrhosisn = 30	CHn = 30	P value
miR-221 (IQR)	0.92 (0.88)	3.4 (19.2)	1.7 (2.6)	> 0.01
				0.051
				0.062
				0.2143
	HCC	Non HCC
	0.92 (0.88)	1.81 (7.75)		0.03 (S)

¹HCC vs LC;

²HCC vs CH;

³LC vs CH. HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; CH: Chronic hepatitis C; IQR: Inter quartile range; LC: Liver cirrhosis.

Table 5 Diagnostic performance of miR-221 for discriminating patients with hepatocellular carcinoma from those without

AUC	P value	Best cutoff	Sensitivity	Specificity	PPV	NPV
0.655	0.03	< 1.82	0.87	0.40	0.47	0.83

HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; PVP: Positive predictive value; NVP: Negative predictive value.