Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Sep 15, 2026; 18(9): 118948
Published online Sep 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.118948
Published online Sep 15, 2026. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.118948
Integrated diagnostic model based on serum exosomal microRNAs and functional mechanism of miR-200b-3p in hepatocellular carcinoma
Xiao-Ye Sun, Na Fu, Dan-Dan Zhao, Yue-Min Nan, Department of Traditional and Western Medical Hepatology, Hebei Medical University Third Hospital, Shijiazhuang 050051, Hebei Province, China
Xiao-Ye Sun, Na Fu, Dan-Dan Zhao, Yue-Min Nan, Department of Gastroenterology, Hebei Medical University Third Hospital, Shijiazhuang 050051, Hebei Province, China
Xiao-Ye Sun, Na Fu, Dan-Dan Zhao, Yue-Min Nan, Hebei International Joint Research Center for Liver Cancer Molecular Diagnosis, Hebei International Science and Technology Cooperation Base, Shijiazhuang 050051, Hebei Province, China
Xiao-Ye Sun, Na Fu, Dan-Dan Zhao, Yue-Min Nan, Hebei Provincial Key Laboratory of Liver Fibrosis Mechanism Study in Chronic Liver Diseases, Hebei Medical University Third Hospital, Shijiazhuang 050051, Hebei Province, China
Zheng-Lu Wang, Lei Cao, Jia-Li Qiu, Yi Li, Biological Sample Resource Sharing Center, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300380, China
Wei Gao, Department of Liver Transplantation, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300380, China
Jin-Liang Duan, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
Lin Li, Institute of Transplantation, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin 300380, China
Author contributions: Sun XY and Fu N contributed to methodology; Sun XY, Qiu JL, Li Y, and Zhao DD contributed to investigation; Sun XY contributed to data curation and writing the original draft; Wang ZL and Cao L contributed to supervision; Qiu JL and Li Y contributed to visualization; Gao W contributed to resources; Duan JL contributed to validation; Li L contributed to formal analysis; Nan YM contributed to conceptualization, funding acquisition and writing - review and editing. All authors approved the final version of the article.
AI contribution statement: AI tools (specifically DeepSeek and Grammarly) were used to assist with manuscript writing and language polishing. The core content and scientific ideas were originally written by the authors. AI tools provided assistance only in portions of the writing process (e.g., language refinement and sentence structuring). All AI-generated or AI-suggested content was subsequently reviewed and revised by the authors, who take full responsibility for the final manuscript.
Supported by Key Research and Development Program of Hebei Province-Biomedical Innovation Project, No. 23377705D; and Introduction of Foreign Intelligence Program in Hebei Province in 2024.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Hebei Medical University Third Hospital, No. KS2023-071-1.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: The datasets, technical appendix, and statistical code used in this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Participants gave informed consent for data sharing, and all shared data will be anonymized. No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Yue-Min Nan, MD, PhD, Chief, Department of Traditional and Western Medical Hepatology, Hebei Medical University Third Hospital, No. 139 Ziqiang Road, Qiaoxi District, Shijiazhuang 050051, Hebei Province, China. nanyuemin@hebmu.edu.cn
Received: January 15, 2026
Revised: March 20, 2026
Accepted: May 14, 2026
Published online: September 15, 2026
Processing time: 222 Days and 22.7 Hours
Revised: March 20, 2026
Accepted: May 14, 2026
Published online: September 15, 2026
Processing time: 222 Days and 22.7 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study developed and validated a novel three-exosomal-miRNA (miR-200b-3p, miR-215-5p, miR-452-5p) and age-based diagnostic model for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using a rigorous multi-cohort design. The model demonstrated high accuracy with an area under the curve of 0.863, offering a robust non-invasive tool for early detection. Furthermore, we experimentally identified phosphoserine aminotransferase 1 as a direct functional target of miR-200b-3p, establishing its tumor-suppressive role in HCC. Our work provides both a clinically promising liquid biopsy biomarker panel and a key mechanistic insight, advancing the field of precision diagnosis for HCC.