Previous studies have demonstrated that microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) act as tumor suppressors or oncogenes during multiple processes in cancer. It has been observed that miR‑27b may act as a tumor‑suppressor and was significantly downregulated in a number of types of cancer. However, the functions of miR‑27b in gastric cancer (GC) remain unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the functional role of miR‑27b in the progression of GC. The downregulation of miR‑27b in human GC plasma was confirmed using miRNA microarray and reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses. The association between circulating miR‑27b expression and clinicopathological features of GC was analyzed and the results demonstrated that the level of circulating miR‑27b was significantly correlated with GC differentiation. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis identified that the plasma level of miR‑27b may be a potential biomarker for differentiating patients with GC from healthy controls. In order to investigate the effect of miR‑27b on GC cell behavior, miR‑27b was overexpressed using miR‑27b mimics, and it was observed that miR‑27b was able to inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in SGC7901 cells. Previous studies have demonstrated that vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGFC) is a target of miR‑27b, and the results of the present study were consistent with these reports. Taken together, the results of the present study indicated that miR‑27b may act as a potential biomarker for differentiating patients with GC from healthy controls, and serve as a tumor suppressor in GC by targeting VEGFC.
Keywords: microRNA-27b; gastric cancer; receiver operating characteristic curve; vascular endothelial growth factor C; proliferation; apoptosis.