Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a global burden. Early detection through surveillance methods has increased patient survival. The miR-199b-5p could be a powerful biomarker for HCC detection. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the diagnostic value of miR-199b-5p as an accurate non-invasive diagnostic marker for early diagnosis of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-induced HCC compared to Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP).
Patients and Methods: 300 participants were enrolled in this study and categorized into three main groups:100 (HCV), 100 (HCC), and 100 healthy controls. The expression profile of miRNA-199b-5p was analyzed using Real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) technology for all participants enrolled in this study.
Results: miRNA-199b-5p had more diagnostic performance in differentiating the HCC group from the control group, showing 72% sensitivity and 62% specificity (AUC:0.770) in comparison to AFP, which had less significant diagnostic performance in differentiating the HCC group from the control group. Showing 67% sensitivity and 51% specificity (AUC:0.675).
Conclusion: The results indicated a higher diagnostic value of miRNA-199b-5p than AFP in detecting HCC patients. Thus, miRNA-199b-5p could be a diagnostic biomarker for HCC with superiority over AFP.