Micro RNA-378a-3p Downregulation as a Novel Biomarker with Poor Clinical Outcomes in Cervical Cancer

Objective Cervical cancer(CC)is one of the most common malignant tumors in gynecology.This study aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of serum micro RNA(mi R)-378 a-3 p in CC and the effect of mi R-378 a-3 p on tumor growth.Methods Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis was used to measure the expression of mi R-378 a-3 p in serum from patients with CC and healthy control subjects as well as from CC tissues and adjacent normal tissues.The association between serum mi R-378 a-3 p levels and clinicopathological factors was analyzed.The correlation between mi R-378 a-3 p levels and overall survival(OS)of CC patients was determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis.The CC cell proliferation and migration abilities after transfection of mi R-378 a-3 p mimics were detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 and scratch wound healing assays,respectively.Tumor volume and weight in mice treated with mi R-378 a-3 p were measured using a caliper and an electronic balance.Results Mi R-378 a-3 p expression was downregulated in the serum and tissues of CC patients compared to that in healthy control subjects and normal tissues,respectively.Low expression of mi R-378 a-3 p was positively correlated with large tumor size,advanced tumor stage,and lymph node metastasis.The OS of patients with low expression of mi R-378 a-3 p was significantly lower than that of patients with high expression.Overexpression of mi R-378 a-3 p suppressed the proliferation and migration of CC cells.In vivo studies indicated that overexpression of mi R-378 a-3 p was associated with decreased tumor volume and weight in mice.Conclusion Mi R-378 a-3 p downregulation is associated with the development and prognosis of CC,suggesting that it may be a potential biomarker for CC.