Search for new microRNAs for differential diagnosis of teratomas

Aim. Search for new microRNAs as markers for differential diagnosis of teratoma and live tumor tissues.

Materials and methods. In the study, freshly frozen tissue samples obtained after orchifuniculectomy (n = 46) and retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (n = 42) in patients with TGCT diagnosis were analyzed. MicroRNAs were isolated from tissue samples and analyzed using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.

Results. After studying the Cancer Genome Atlas, microRNA-196a-5p and microRNA-200b-3p with differential expression in tissue samples of different histological types of TGCT were identified. These microRNA are significantly overexpressed in non-seminomas, and their expression levels significantly differ from expression levels in normal tissues and seminomas. The level of microRNA-196b-5p expression in teratomas obtained after retroperitoneal lymph node dissection is significantly higher than in seminomas, and microRNA-200b-3p expression level is significantly higher than in tissues with necrotic changes. ROC analysis has shown 89 % sensitivity and 79 % specificity for microRNA-196b-5p as a diagnostic marker. For microRNA-200b-3p, sensitivity and specificity were 75 and 89 %, respectively.

Conclusion. In this study, we have shown for the first time that microRNA-196a-5p and microRNA-200b-3p have high diagnostic potential as markers for identification of various types of TGCTs including teratoma.

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