Decreased Expression Of Mir-378 Is Associated With Local Invasion, Lymph Node Metastasis And Poor Prognosis In Gastric Cancer

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in various cancers, are associated with tumor genesis, progression and prognosis. MiR-378 has important roles in inhibiting gastric cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion. However, the relationships between miR-378 expression and clinicopathological features, and prognosis are not yet investigated. In this study, we investigated the expression of miR-378 in 87 pairs of primary gastric cancer and their corresponding nontumorous tissues, and analyzed its clinical significance. The study showed that miR-378 was frequently downregulated in gastric cancer, and the reduced expression of miR-378 was associated with increased local tumor invasion and advanced stages. Patients with lymph node metastasis displayed a lower miR-378 expression than gastric cancer without lymph node metastasis. Univariate analysis identified low expression of miR-378 as a poor prognostic factor. These results suggest that miR-378 has a potential to serve as a clinical biomarker for predicting disease invasiveness and prognosis of patients with gastric cancer.