A panel of three serum microRNAs as a potential diagnostic biomarker for renal cell carcinoma

Hitherto there is no praiseworthy noninvasive methods in the early diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) could be utilized as molecular markers for diverse malignancies. In this study, we aim to discern potential miRNAs as markers for screening RCC. We employed quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to detect expression levels of candidate miRNAs in serum specimens of 108 RCC patients and 112 health volunteers. Diagnostic values of miRNAs were appraised, and panel was constructed by dint of receiver operating characteristic curves, the area under the ROC curve and backward stepwise logistic regression analysis. Moreover, we capitalized on bioinformatics analysis for exploration of miRNAs biological functions. The expression of five miRNAs (miR-30c-5p, miR-142-3p, miR-206, miR-223-3p, miR-200c-5p) were markedly alteration in serum specimens of RCC patients and health subjects. A three-miRNA panel combining miR-30c-5p, miR-142-3p and miR-206 was constructed and could discriminate RCC patients and healthy subjects satisfactorily with 0.872 (0.811-0.919, P < 0.001) AUC, 81.25% sensitivity and 86.90% specificity. ATF3 and MYC seem to be potential targets of the three-miRNA panel. The novel miRNA-based panel may perform as potential noninvasive markers to discriminate RCC patients and healthy subjects in advance.