Diagnostic and prognostic value of serum miR-99a expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Despite progress in the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) over past years, the prognosis for OSCC patients remains dismal. MicroRNA-99a (miR-99a) has been found to involve in the development of many cancer types, but its clinical role in OSCC is unclear. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the clinical implications of serum miR-99a in OSCC. METHODS: This study detected serum miR-99a levels in 121 OSCC cases and 55 healthy controls by using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis. RESULTS: The data showed that serum miR-99a expression was significantly decreased in OSCC patients compared with normal controls. OSCC patients with low miR-99a expression experienced more frequent poor differentiation and advanced clinical stage. Furthermore, in screening OSCC cases from normal controls, miR-99a could yield a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) area under the curve (AUC) of 0.911 with 83.6% specificity and 80.2% sensitivity. Notably, patients with high miR-99a expression had longer overall survival and recurrence free survival. Finally, serum miR-99a was identified to be an independent prognostic indicator for OSCC. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that miR-99a might be a valuable marker for the prediction of early detection and prognosis in OSCC.