miR‑27a promotes proliferation, migration, and invasion of colorectal cancer by targeting FAM172A and acts as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker.

Accumulating evidence shows that mircroRNAs (miRNAs) play a crucial role in the development of colorectal cancer. In our previous study, FAM172A was demonstrated to be a novel tumor suppressor gene in CRC. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify whether the miR‑27a could be a diagnostic and prognostic marker and the regulatory relationships between miR‑27a and FAM172A. We demonstrated high levels of miR‑27a expression in tissues of patients with CRC as well as in CRC cell lines. There was a positive correlation between the levels of miR‑27a and the poor overall survival of patients with CRC. Furthermore, elevated levels of miR‑27a expression were associated with TNM stage and distant metastasis. Increased expression or inhibition of miR‑27a promoted or inhibited the metastasis of CRC cell lines, respectively. Moreover, we showed that miR‑27a directly targets the 3'-untranslated region of FAM172A mRNA by using a dual-luciferase assay. Increased or decreased expression of FAM172A expression was observed when miR‑27a expression was inhibited or elevated in the CRC cells, respectively. In summary, our study showed that miR‑27a expression is a diagnostic and prognostic marker and correlates with overall survival of patients with CRC. Therefore, it may be a therapeutic approach for preventing metastasis of CRC to inhibit expression of miR‑27a or increase expression of FAM172A.