MicroRNA profiling in serum and correlation with tumor tissue and clinicopathological parameters in periampullary carcinoma

Backgrounds/Aims: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and progression. This pilot study evaluated whether circulating miRNAs correlate with tumor tissue expression and clinicopathological parameters in periampullary carcinoma (PACA) patients. Methods: Thirty-nine PACA patients who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy (April 2021-March 2024) were enrolled. Total RNA from preoperative serum and tumor tissue was isolated using the miRNeasy kit (Qiagen). Quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction was performed for 14 PACA-related miRNAs, with U6 small nuclear RNA as a reference (ΔCt = CtmiRNA - CtU6 for normalization); relative expression was calculated as ΔΔCt = ΔCtcases - ΔCtcontrols. Results: = 0.049). Subgroup analyses revealed no significant differences in miRNA expression across histological subtypes or tumor stages. Conclusions: Serum miR‑199 and miR‑19 showed exploratory concordance between circulating and tumor tissue expression in PACA, but their clinical utility remains limited and requires validation in a larger cohort.