Abstract
BACKGROUND: The microRNA, miR-139-5p, plays an important role in the initiation and progression of various tumor types including osteosarcoma (OS). OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to detect the serum miR-139-5p expression in OS and analyze its association with clinical variables. METHODS: Blood samples were taken from 98 OS patients and 50 healthy individuals, and serum miR-139-5p levels were measured by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: We found the expression of serum miR-139-5p in OS patients was significantly lower than that in healthy individuals, and miR-139-5p levels were dramatically decreased in patients with distant metastasis or in higher clinical stage. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that serum miR-139-5p could well discriminate OS patients from healthy controls with a high sensitivity and specificity. Moreover, low serum miR-139-5p expression was strongly associated with distant metastasis, tumor stage and shorter overall survival. Both univariate and multivariate analyses showed that serum miR-139-5p level could serve as an independent prognostic marker for OS. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, data from this study demonstrates that serum miR-139-5p could be used as a tumor biomarker for OS diagnosis and prognosis.