Serum MicroRNA Signatures and Metabolomics Have High Diagnostic Value in Colorectal Cancer by Two Novel Methods

Abstract

Recently, many new diagnostic biomarkers have been developed for colorectal cancer. We chose two methods with high diagnostic efficiencies, the detection of serum microRNAs and metabolomics based on gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), and aimed to establish appropriate models. We reviewed the diagnostic value of all microRNAs identified by previous diagnostic tests. We selected appropriate microRNAs to validate their diagnostic efficiencies, and determined the optimal combination. We included 85 patients with CRC and 78 healthy controls (HCs) and detected the expression of the microRNAs. GC/MS analysis was conducted, and we use three multivariate statistical methods to establish diagnostic models. The concentrations of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) were detected for comparison with the novel models. 62 published studies and 63 microRNAs were ultimately included in this review. MiR-21, miR-29a, miR-92a, miR-125b, and miR-223 were selected to further validate their diagnostic value. The serum levels of the five microRNAs in CRC patients were significantly higher than those in the HCs. The combination of miR-21, miR-29a, miR-92a and miR-125b had the highest area under the curve (AUC) at 0.952 with a sensitivity of 84.7% and a specificity of 98.7%. The GC/MS analysis exhibited an excellent diagnostic value and the AUC reached 1.0. With regard to traditional biomarkers, the AUC of CEA and CA19-9 were 0.808 and 0.705, respectively. There is a good application prospect for microRNAs and metabolomics as new diagnostic methods because of their high diagnostic value compared with traditional biomarkers.

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