Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study is conducted to investigate whether serum microRNA (miR)-141-3p can serve as a biomarker for early-stage diagnosis of endometriosis. METHODS: A total of 246 patients who underwent laparoscopic examination and were diagnosed with endometriosis at our hospital between October 2020 and October 2022 were retrospectively enrolled as the Endometriosis group. This group was further allocated into Early-Endometriosis (Stage I-II) and Severe-Endometriosis (Stage III-IV) groups. Additionally, 87 healthy women with normal clinical parameters during the same period were selected as the control group. miR-141-3p expression in the serum of endometriosis patients were detected using RT-qPCR. The relationship of serum miR-141-3p expression with EHP-30 score in endometriosis patients was examined using Spearman. The diagnostic value of serum miR-141-3p for endometriosis was assessed by ROC analysis. Further ROC analysis was conducted to evaluate the diagnostic value of combined serum miR-141-3p and CA125 levels for early-stage endometriosis. RESULTS: Serum miR-141-3p expression was significantly lower in endometriosis patients and was negatively correlated with clinical staging. Serum miR-141-3p demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance for endometriosis (AUC = 0.916) and retained a high diagnostic value for early-stage endometriosis (AUC = 0.858). The diagnostic efficacy was further improved when combined with CA125 (AUC = 0.985). CONCLUSION: Serum miR-141-3p expression decreases with disease progression in endometriosis patients and shows high clinical utility for the early-stage diagnosis of endometriosis. miR-141-3p expression may serve as a potential marker for diagnosis of endometriosis.