Exploring miR-155-5p and miR-1246 as Diagnostic and Prognostic Markers in Oral Squamous cell carcinoma

• DOI: 10.1007/s11033-024-09234-w
• Publication Date: 2024-02-24T06:02:30Z
• Authors: R. Maheswari; Aadithya B. Urs; Priya Kumar; B. C. Koner; Sameer Ahmad Guru; Garima Rawat
• Keywords: miR-155

Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the leading cancers worldwide, significantly impacting developing nations. This study aimed to explore the diagnostic and prognostic potential of miR-155-5p and miR-1246 in OSCC in the Indian population, as their comparative roles in this context remain unexplored.The present cross-sectional study comprised 50 histopathologically confirmed OSCC cases, with adjacent normal mucosa as controls. MiRNA expression was assessed via qRT-PCR and correlated with clinicopathological factors. MiRwalk and miRTargetlink were used for miRNA:mRNA interaction prediction, and gprofiler was employed to analyze validated targets for functional insights.The expression analysis showed a significant upregulation of miR-155-5p and miR-1246 in OSCC tissues compared to adjacent controls. Receiver operating curve analysis revealed that miR-1246 exhibited excellent diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.94) compared to miR-155-5p (AUC = 0.69). Higher miRNA levels were associated with age and extracapsular extension while overexpression of miR-1246 was correlated significantly with increased tumor size, tumor grade, TNM staging, and depth of invasion. The analysis for target prediction unveiled a set of validated targets, among which were WNT5A, TP53INP1, STAT3, CTNNB1, PRKAR1A, and NFIB.miR-155-5p and miR-1246 may be used as potential prognostic biomarkers in OSCC, with miR-1246 demonstrating superior diagnostic accuracy.