• Soon Sun Kim, Hyo Jung Cho, Ji Sun Nam, Hyun Ji Kim, Dae Ryong Kang, Je Hwan Won, Jinoo Kim, Jai Keun Kim, Jei Hee Lee, Bo Hyun Kim, Mi Young Lee, Sung Won Cho, and Jae Youn Cheong.
• Department of Gastroenterology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2018 Jan 1; 33 (1): e6.

BackgroundWe investigated an association between the levels of plasma microRNA (miRNA)-21, -26a, and -29a-3p and treatment outcomes following transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).MethodsA total of 198 patients with TACE-treated HCC were followed up for TACE refractoriness and liver transplantation (LT)-free survival. Pretreatment plasma miRNA-21, -26a, and -29a-3p levels were measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.ResultsDuring the mean follow-up of 22.3 (range, 0.7-79) months, 118 (59.6%) patients exhibited TACE refractoriness. Multivariate analyses showed that expression of a specific combination of miRNAs (miRNA-21 ≥ 2.5, miRNA-26a ≥ 1.5, and miRNA-29a-3p < 0.4) was associated with early TACE refractoriness (within 1 year; hazard ratio [HR], 2.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-4.99; P = 0.031) together with tumor size (HR, 4.62; 95% CI, 1.50-14.21; P = 0.008), and macrovascular invasion (HR, 3.80; 95% CI, 1.19-12.20; P = 0.025). However, miRNA-21, -26a, and -29a-3p levels were not significantly associated with overall TACE refractoriness or LT-free survival. Additionally, large tumor size and macrovascular invasion were common predictive factor of overall TACE refractoriness and survival.ConclusionCombination of plasma miRNA-21, -26a, and -29a-3p expression could predict early TACE refractoriness in patients with TACE-treated HCC.© 2018 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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