Title : Assessment of salivary and tumour tissue Mirna 21 as marker for prediction of cervical lymph node metastasis in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma: An observational study.
Abstract:
Background: The miR-21 targets those genes which are associated with a metastatic process in OSCC. The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of miR-21 for the assessment of cervical lymph node metastasis in patients with OSCC.
Method: Unstimulated whole saliva and tumor tissue were obtained from clinically suspected patients of OSCC. The assessment of cervical lymph node metastasis was done prior to surgery using imaging scans and post-surgically confirmed by histopathological examination. miR-21 expression was evaluated using Real-time PCR. The data were statistically analyzed for correlation analysis, cutoff values, sensitivity, and specificity. The Kappa statistics were applied, to assess the degree of agreement between the lymph node metastasis and miR-21 expression.
Results: miR-21 expression showed a statistically significant correlation with cervical lymph node metastasis, with a diagnostic accuracy of 65%-71.54% in saliva and 69%-81.54% in tumor tissue. The cutoff value of miR-21-5p and miR-21-3p was 2.32 ct and 2.16 ct for saliva and 1.80 ct and 0.89 ct for tumor tissue. In the present study, it was observed that when the miR-21 expression is above the cut-off score the chances of lymph node metastasis are higher. Very good agreement was observed between tumor tissue miR-21-3p and cervical lymph node metastasis, with a specificity of 80.60% and a sensitivity of 82.40%.
Conclusion: miR-21 expression in saliva and tumor tissue of OSCC patients showed high diagnostic accuracy for the assessment of cervical lymph node metastasis. It can be used as an alternative for the assessment of cervical lymph node metastasis before surgery.
Audience Takes Away Notes:
- The expression of miRNA 21 can be used as an alternative method for assessment of Lymph node metastasis using saliva or tumor tissue
- This will help to overcome the limitations of the present use of radio imaging methods for the same purpose
- This study helps to establish the link between miRNA 21 and Lymph node metastasis
