miR-3653-3p Expression in PBMCs: Unveiling the Diagnostic Potential for Ovarian Cancer

Abstract

Ovarian cancer is typically diagnosed at an advanced stage, recurs early and often, and currently lacks effective treatment. Therefore, overall survival and progression-free survival are relatively short for this disease. Sensitive and specific biomarkers for early diagnosis and follow-up for effective treatment of the disease are currently lacking. MicroRNA (miRNA/miR) expression studies are widely used in cancer research. Disruption or malfunction of miRNAs, a class of noncoding small RNAs, has been implicated in cancer progression in several publications. Of note, the expression of a series of miRNAs is known to differ in ovarian cancer. In cancer research, it is crucial to analyze expression patterns in both cancer patients and healthy individuals to identify cancer-specific biological markers and to understand their role in cancer. In the present study, the expression levels of miR-3653-3p in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of 150 patients with high-risk ovarian cancer were determined, including those with a family history of cancer or an early-age diagnosis of ovarian cancer, as well as 100 healthy individuals. The results were then compared between the two groups. The expression level of miR-3653-3p in the PBMCs of patients with ovarian cancer was determined to be 9.49-fold higher than that in the healthy control group, and this result was statistically significant (P < 0.001). In addition, receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis of PBMC showed statistical significance of miR-3653-3p in discriminating ovarian cancer patients from healthy subjects (P < 0.001). These results suggest that miR-3653-3p detected in peripheral blood may be used as a non-invasive biomarker for ovarian cancer.