Expression of microRNA-218 in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and its correlation with tumor progression and patient survival.

Background: Our aim was to analyze clinicopathologic and prognostic values of microRNA (miR)-218 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinima (PDAC).

Methods: TaqMan quantitative RT-PCR was used to determine the expression of miR-218 in human PDAC cells and tissue samples. The association of miR-218 expression with clinicopathologic variables was analyzed. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed to analyze the association of miR-218 expression with recurrence-free survival or overall survival of patients. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed.

Results: The relative level of miR-218 in PDAC cells was significantly lower than that in normal human pancreatic duct epithelial cell line. Also, the mean level of miR-218 in PDAC tissues was significantly lower than that in normal pancreatic tissues. Statistical analyses indicated that low miR-218 expression was closely associated with poor tumor differentiation, advanced tumor stage, higher incidence of lymph node metastasis, and tumor recurrence. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses showed that patients with low miR-218 expression had lower recurrence-free and overall survival than those with high miR-218 expression. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that miR-218 might be an independent prognostic factor.

Conclusion: Reduced miR-218 in PDAC tissues was correlated with tumor progression, and might be an independent poor prognostic factor for patients.