| Objective:microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). miRNAs are involved in the regulation of a variety of physiological and pathological processes at post-transcriptional level, and the research on their functions is the hotspot currently. microRNA-93(miR-93), as a novel oncogenic microRNA (oncomiRNA), is elevated in diverse human malignancies. Aberrant expression and dysfunction of miR-93has been involved in many kinds of human tumors. However, the exact role of miR-93is not clear enough in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The aim of the present study is to investigate the expression pattern of miR-93in HNSCC, and its role in progession of HNSCC.Methods:miR-93expression in103primary HNSCC tissues and16corresponding adjacent noncarcinoma specimens were analyzed by miRNA in situ hybridizations and correlated with clinicopathological parameters and patient outcome.Results:miR-93overexpressed in HNSCC tissues. More importantly, high miR-93expression was significantly associated with T classification (χ2=12.711, P<0.001), lymph node metastasis(χ2=1.446, P=0.001), and clinical stage (χ2=10.513, P=0.001), respectively. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that patients with high miR-93expression had poorer overall survival than patients with low miR-93expression (33.3%vs65.5%,χ2=12.648,p<0.001). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that miR-93overexpression and lymph node metastasis were independent prognostic factors for patients with HNSCC (RR=0.515,95%CI:0.265-1.001, P=0.050; RR=0.359,95%CI:0.143-0.901, P=0.029).Conclusion:This study demonstrated that miR-93expression was obviously increased in HNSCC tissue samples, and miR-93overexpression was associated with tumor progression, metastasis and poorer prognosis in HNSCC patients. These results suggested that miR-93might play a critical role in the initiation and progression of HNSCC, implicating miR-93as a valuable marker for the prediction of metastasis and prognosis in HNSCC. |
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