Serum-derived exomiR-188-3p is a promising novel biomarker for early-stage ovarian cancer.

BACKGROUND: The exosomal microRNAs (exomiRNAs) are promising novel biomarkers for clinical detection and prognosis assessment of human cancers. The aim of this study was to identify potential exomiRNAs as biomarkers in ovarian cancer (OC). METHODS: The candidate exomiRNAs were screened by analysis of GSE235525, GSE239685, and GSE216150 datasets and further validated in exosome samples from the serum of 61 patients with OC and OC cell lines by qPCR. The correlations between exomiRNAs expression and clinicopathological features of OC patients were assessed, and Kaplan-Meier survival and receiver operating characteristic curves were employed to analyze the prognostic and diagnostic values. RESULTS: We found that exomiR-188-3p expression was downregulated in patients with OC and OC cell lines compared with healthy controls and normal cells. Decreased exomiR-188-3p was associated with advanced FIGO stage, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis. The area under the curve (AUC) values of exomiR-188-3p for differentiating OC, stage IA-IIA OC, and no metastatic OC from healthy controls were 0.8983, 0.8461, and 0.8179. And combination of exomiR-188-3p and CA125 yields better diagnostic efficacy, with AUC values of 0.9323, 0.8925, and 0.9120. Lower expression of exomiR-188-3p predicted a poor overall survival and progression-free survival in patients with OC. CONCLUSION: Decreased exomiR-188-3p could be a potential early diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for OC patients.