Serum TSGF and miR-214 levels in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and their predictive value for the curative effect of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization.

Background: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the expression of tumor-specific growth factor (TSGF) and microRNA-214 (miR-214) in the serum of patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC) and their predictive values for the curative effect of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE).

Methods: A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 87 PHC patients were treated with TACE. According to the curative effect 1 month after TACE, PHC patients were divided into disease control group (n=56) and disease progression group (n=31). The expression levels of TSGF and miR-214 were detected by qRT-PCR before or after treatment with TACE in disease control group and disease progression group. The predictive value of TSGF and miR-214 for the efficacy of TACE were evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve was drawn according to the critical value of ROC. The effect of pretreatment levels of TSGF and miR-214 was analyzed on the three-year survival rate of patients.

Results: After TACE treatment, the mRNA expressive of serum TSGF were increased in progression group, while the levels of miR-214 were decreased compared with control group (P<0.05). Importantly, at one month after TACE treatment, the levels of TSGF were decreased in control group and progression group, while the expression of miR-214 was increased compared with in both groups before TACE treatment(P<0.05). The result of ROC analysis showed that for predicting the curative effect of TACE, the levels of TSGF and miR-214 expression were (181.32, 0.63) (0.849 and 0.807) and (0.759-0.938, 0.707-0.907) in the cutoff values, AUCs and 95% confidence intervals, respectively. The result of Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the 3-year survival rate of the low TSGF group was up-regulated than that of the high TSGF group [65.12% (31/44) vs. 30.23% (13/43); χ2=5.014; P=0.025]. The 3-year survival rate of the miR-214 high expression group was up-regulated than that of the miR-214 low expression group [61.70% (29/47) vs. 30.00% (12/40); χ2=6.928; P=0.008].

Conclusions: Serum TSGF and miR-214 could be used as potential biomarkers for PHC diagnosis and prognosis.