A Preliminary Study of the Value of Plasma microRNA-193b and Soluble Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator Receptor in Identifying Patients with Early-Stage Colorectal Cancer and Advanced Adenoma

Background: Early detection and management of colorectal cancer (CRC) and colorectal adenoma (CRA) reduces the mortality and morbidity of CRC, but there is a lack of ideal circulation biomarkers. Methods: A total of 80 patients with early-stage CRC and CRA and 30 healthy controls were included in this preliminary study. Plasma samples were collected before colonoscopy and prepared for measurement of microRNA-193b and soluble uPAR. Results: Plasma level of miR-193b was decreased through the normal-adenoma-carcinoma sequence with no significant difference between patients with CRC and advanced CRA. The AUC of ROC curve evaluating the value of miR-193b in discriminating patients with early stage CRC or advanced CRA from patients with non-advanced CRA or normal control subjects was 0.849 (95% CI 0.773 - 0.923, p < 0.001). Significant alteration of plasma suPAR is only observed in CRC group (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Plasma miR-193b may be a novel candidate biomarker for screening patients with early-stage CRC and advanced CRA.