Clinical significance of combined circulating TERT promoter mutations and miR-122 expression for screening HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Sci Rep. 2020 May 18;10(1):8181. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-65213-8.

Abstract

Telomerase reverse-transcriptase (TERT) gene promoter mutations in circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) as well as the levels of circulating microRNA-122 (miR-122) have been reported as potential noninvasive biomarkers for several. This study evaluates the diagnostic performance of potent biomarker-based panels composing of serological AFP, miR-122 and circulating TERT promoter mutations for screening HBV-related HCC. TERT promoter mutations (C228T and C250T) and miR-122 expression were assessed in the plasma samples from 249 patients with HBV-related liver diseases by nested PCR and qRT-PCR assays, respectively. The diagnostic values of TERT promoter mutations, miR-122 expression and biomarker-based panels were assessed by computation of the area under the curve (AUC). Nested-PCR assays were optimized to detect C228T and C250T mutations in TERT promoter with detection limit of 1%. The common hotspot C228T was observed in 22 HCC cases. The triple combinatory panel (AFP@TERT@miR-122) acquired the best diagnostic value to distinguish HCC from CHB (AUC = 0.98), LC (AUC = 0.88) or non-HCC (LC + CHB, AUC = 0.94) compared to the performance of double combinations or single biomarkers, respectively. Notably, among patients with AFP levels≤20 ng/μl, the double combination panel (TERT@miR-122) retains satisfactory diagnostic performance in discriminating HCC from the others (HCC vs. CHB, AUC = 0.96; HCC vs. LC, AUC = 0.88, HCC vs. non-HCC, AUC = 0.94). The triple combination panel AFP@TERT@miR-122 shows a better diagnostic performance for screening HCC in HBV patients, regardless of AFP levels. The newly established panels can be a potential application in clinical practice in Vietnamese setting.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / blood
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / genetics*
  • Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / virology
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic*
  • Hepatitis B virus / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Liver Neoplasms / blood
  • Liver Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Liver Neoplasms / virology
  • Male
  • MicroRNAs / genetics*
  • Middle Aged
  • Mutation*
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic / genetics
  • Telomerase / genetics*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • MIRN122 microRNA, human
  • MicroRNAs
  • Telomerase