Study the Expression of Some miRNA in Tissues of Egyptian Colorectal Cancer Patients

Abstract

With 2 million new cases reported in 2018 and a mortality rate of 9.2%, CRC represents a major health problem. Crosstalk between genetic and epigenetic mechanisms was documented in colorectal carcinogenesis. Different studies emphasized the impact of miRNAs in CRC development. Further, some miRNAs can distinguish with high accuracy between healthy subjects and CRC patients, and thus, can be used for screening, diagnosis, and treatment response. Therefore, this study was designed to explore the differential expression levels of miR-21, -23a, and -27a in the sera and tissues of Egyptian CRC patients as well as evaluating the diagnostic efficacy of their circulating expression levels. This was an observational prospective study in which 70 participants were enrolled. The examined group consisted of 35 CRC patients who were recruited from the Endemic Medicine Department, Kasr Elainy Hospitals, Cairo University between December 2017 and February 2019. CRC was confirmed by histopathological analysis of tissues. Additionally, 35 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers were served as a control group. Informed written consent was obtained from all participants included in the study. The study protocol was approved by the ethical committee of the National Research Centre with Registered RIP No. 17090, Giza, Egypt in agreement with The Declaration of Helsinki of 1975 revised in 2008.