Over expression of miR-21 is associated with recurrence in patients with HBV-mediated Hepatocellular Carcinoma undergoing Liver Transplantation

Abstract Liver Transplantation (LT) is the best treatment option for HBV-mediated Hepatoculler carcinoma (HCC). Nevertheless, recurrence is the most important issue after LT. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the relation of dysregulated expression of miRNAs in recurrence formation in HBV-mediated HCC cases. A total of 42 HBV-mediated HCC patients were evaluated in this study. Among twenty-one miRNAs, the expression level of miR-106a and miR-21 were higher, and miR-143 and miR145 were lower in patients with HCC compared with noncancerous liver tissues ( P= 0.0388 , P= 0 .0214, P = 0.0321 and P= 0.002 ; respectively). Compared with nonrecurrent patients, the expression level of miR-21 was 3.54 fold higher, and miR-145 was 2.42 fold lower in patients with recurrence during the 5 year follow up ( P = 0.004 and P = 0.032 ; respectively). In addition, according to multivariate cox regression analysis, the overexpression of miR-21 was found to be a prognostic indicator in HBV-mediated HCC patients ( P= 0.002 ). In conclusion, we show a significant association between high expression of miR-21 and recurrence in HBV-mediated HCC. Therefore, up-regulation of miR-21 could serve as a promising prognostic marker for HCC.