Diagnostic Value of Combining miRNAs, CEA Measurement and the FOBT in Colorectal Cancer Screening

• Main Authors: Li X, Chen R, Li Z, Luo B, Geng W, Wu X
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2020-04-01
• Series: Cancer Management and Research
• Subjects: micrornas; colorectal cancer; biomarker
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/diagnostic-value-of-combining-mirnas-cea-measurement-and-the-fobt-in-c-peer-reviewed-article-CMAR

Xiaodan Li,1 Rong Chen,2 Zhifa Li,2 Bing Luo,1 Wenyan Geng,1 Xiaobing Wu2 1Clinical Laboratory, The Third Affiliated Hospital of the Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510150, People’s Republic of China; 2Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of the Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510150, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xiaobing WuGastrointestinal Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of the Guangzhou Medical University, NO. 63, Duobao Road, Liwan District, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Prov 510150, People’s Republic of ChinaTel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [e-mail]: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common illnesses that seriously threatens human health; many papers have reported that microRNAs (miRNAs) are promising biomarkers for cancer detection. However, miRNAs have not been used in clinical practice even though they are superior to the currently used screening tools, such as the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) measurement.Methods: In this study, we focused on the usefulness of a panel of miRNAs and the combination of miRNAs with the FOBT and CEA measurement, the currently used general diagnosis methods, to improve the accuracy of CRC diagnosis.Results: The results showed that the miRNA panel has great potential value as a diagnostic biomarker with high specificity and sensitivity, and further analysis demonstrated that the miRNA panel had higher sensitivity and specificity than the FOBT and CEA measurement, even when these methods were combined. More importantly, although the miRNA panel is superior to the FOBT and CEA measurement, it cannot replace them.Conclusions: In this research, we investigated whether complementarity exists between the miRNA panel and the FOBT and CEA measurement for CRC diagnosis. Interestingly, the results indicated that the FOBT and CEA measurement could improve the positivity rate of the miRNA panel as a biomarker and vice versa.Keywords: microRNAs, colorectal cancer, biomarker