Role of miR-21 in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer: Meta-analysis and bioinformatics

Jiaxin Li; Huili Chen; Guiying Sun; Xiaoyue Zhang; Hua Ye; Peng Wang

doi:10.1016/j.prp.2023.154670

Role of miR-21 in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer: Meta-analysis and bioinformatics

Pathol Res Pract. 2023 Aug:248:154670. doi: 10.1016/j.prp.2023.154670. Epub 2023 Jul 3.

Authors

Jiaxin Li¹, Huili Chen¹, Guiying Sun¹, Xiaoyue Zhang¹, Hua Ye¹, Peng Wang²

Affiliations

¹ College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, Henan Province, China; Henan Key Laboratory of Tumor Epidemiology and State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention & Treatment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, Henan Province, China.
² College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, Henan Province, China; Henan Key Laboratory of Tumor Epidemiology and State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention & Treatment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, Henan Province, China. Electronic address: wangpeng1658@hotmail.com.

PMID: 37418993
DOI: 10.1016/j.prp.2023.154670

Abstract

Advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) has a bad prognosis and is challenging to cure. Therefore, there is an urgent need for an effective early diagnosis marker. MicroRNA-21 (miR-21) regulates the expression of multiple cancer target genes. The objective of this study was to assess the diagnostic role of miR-21 in CRC.A meta-analysis of PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases was performed with a carefully designed search strategy to identify records related to the diagnostic role of miR-21 in CRC. TCGA data was used to search for different microRNAs in colorectal cancer samples and surrounding tissues. In addition, potential target genes for miR-21 were predicted and evaluated by functional analysis. We conducted a meta-analysis for 10 studies, including 728 blood samples of patients with CRC and 472 healthy controls. The combined sensitivity and specificity of miR-21 to diagnose colorectal cancer were 0.79 (95% CI: 0.67-0.87) and 0.92 (95% CI: 0.85-0.96), respectively. The combined positive likelihood ratio (PLR) was 10.20 (95% CI: 4.8-21.5), the combined negative likelihood ratio (NLR) was 0.23 (95% CI: 0.14-0.37), the diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 45.00 (95% CI:15-132), the area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve (SROC) for the included studies was 0.93(95%CI: 0.91-0.95). Simultaneously, TCGA data showed that miR-21 was a differential microRNA in colorectal cancer tissues and adjacent tissues, and it was an up-regulated gene. After verification by three databases, 48 target genes of miR-21 were obtained. Through GO enrichment analysis, it was found that the target genes were mainly distributed in the fiber center, the molecular function was mainly focused on cytokine receptor binding, and the biological process was mainly focused on ubiquitin-dependent protein catabolism mediated by the proteasome. KEGG pathway analysis showed that the target genes were mainly distributed in tumor pathways.

Keywords: Bioinformatics; Colorectal cancer; Diagnostic value; Meta-analysis; MiR-21.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Review

MeSH terms

Biomarkers, Tumor / genetics
Colorectal Neoplasms* / diagnosis
Colorectal Neoplasms* / genetics
Computational Biology
Humans
MicroRNAs* / metabolism
Sensitivity and Specificity

Substances

Biomarkers, Tumor
MicroRNAs
MIRN21 microRNA, human