Identification of serum miR-124 as a biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis in osteosarcoma

Background: It has been demonstrated that microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in the carcinogenesis of osteosarcoma.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum miR-124 in osteosarcoma.

Methods: The serum miR-124 expression levels in 114 osteosarcoma patients, 40 periostitis patients and 50 normal controls were detected using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR).

Results: The level of serum miR-124 was remarkably decreased in osteosarcoma patients when compared to periostitis patients and healthy controls (both p< 0.05). The serum miR-124 levels in osteosarcoma patients were significantly elevated after receiving surgical treatment (p< 0.01). Furthermore, the area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) for serum miR-124 was 0.846, combining with 79.8% sensitivity and 86.00% specificity. A significant correlation was detected between serum miR-124 expression and distant metastasis (p= 0.0256) as well as clinical stage (p= 0.0006). Similarly, serum miR-124 levels in patients with advanced clinical stage or positive distant metastasis were significantly decreased. Moreover, the Kaplan-Meier method with log-rank test showed that osteosarcoma patients with lower serum miR-124 levels had unfavorable 5 year overall survival and disease free survival rates. Finally, multivariate analysis revealed that serum miR-124 was an independent prognostic indicator for osteosarcoma.

Conclusions: These findings suggested that serum miR-124 might be a promising biomarker with diagnostic and prognostic value for osteosarcoma.