Circulating microRNAs, miR-92a, miR-100 and miR-143, as non-invasive biomarkers for bladder cancer diagnosis.

The application of microRNAs (miRNAs) as potential biomarkers and therapy targets has been widely investigated in many kinds of cancers. Recent advantages of serum miRNAs open a new realm of possibilities for non-invasive diagnosis and prognosis of bladder cancer (BC). The aim of our study was to identify plasma miR-92a, miR-100 and miR-143 expression signatures in patients with BC to introduce new markers for establishing BC diagnosis and prognosis. Blood samples were collected from 70 BC patients and 62 controls. An expression of three target miRNAs (miR-92a, miR-100 and miR-143) was measured using quantitative real-time PCR method. Results were correlated with clinicopathological data and analysed. Plasma levels of miR-92a, miR-100 and miR-143 were significantly lower in BC patients than in control group. Receiver operator characteristic analysis revealed that the sensitivity and specificity values of miR-92a were 97·1% and 76·7%, respectively, with a cut-off value of 0·573. The sensitivity and specificity values of miR-100 were 90% and 66·7%, respectively, with a cut-off value of 0·644. The sensitivity and specificity values of miR-143 were 78·6% and 93·3%, respectively, with a cut-off value of 0·164. This study explores the existence of specific plasma miRNAs as early diagnostic biomarkers for BC in Egyptian patients; and these findings suggest that plasma miR-92a, miR-100 and miR-143 could be promising novel circulating biomarkers in clinical detection of BC.