BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence have shown that miRNAs play an important role in the development and progression of
non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to analyze serum exosomal miR-216b expression in NSCLC patients and its potential
clinical signifificance.
METHODS: A total of 105 NSCLC patients and 60 healthy controls were enrolled, and quantitative reverse transcription poly
merase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to detect serum exosomal miR-216b expression.
RESULTS: The results demonstrated that serum exosomal miR-216b levels were signifificantly lower in NSCLC patients com
pared to controls. In addition, receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed that serum exosomal miR-216b had better di
agnostic accuracy than CEA, CYFRA21-1 or SCCA. Moreover, serum exosomal miR-216b levels in early-stage NSCLC pa
tients were dramatically increased after surgical resection, and patients with low serum exosomal miR-216b expression had
higher lymph node metastasis probability. Furthermore, low serum exosomal miR-216b expression was closely associated with
poor prognosis. Finally, multivariate analysis showed that serum exosomal miR-216b could serve as an independent predictor of
NSCLC.
CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, serum exosomal miR-216b might be used as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker
for NSCLC.
