Low expression of miRNA-1290 associated with local invasion and recurrence in sacral chordoma.

Chordoma is a rare, locally aggressive neoplasm of bone, usually with poor prognosis. The treatment for chordoma has been unsatisfactory for decades. MiRNAs were recently introduced into this field and provided new insights to the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of chordoma. However, molecular basis of chordoma remains ambiguous up to now. This research aims to discover novel miRNA molecules as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets. We measured the expression of miRNA-1290 in chordoma tissues and fetal nucleus pulposus tissues by quantitative real-time PCR. Further, we analyzed its association with the clinical features as well as the prognosis of patients. The expression of miRNA-1290 in chordoma samples was significantly lower than fetal nucleus pulposus samples (P=0.026). Low expression of miRNA-1290 contributed to tumor invasion into surrounding muscle (P=0.013), while no obvious significance was identified between miRNA-1290 expression and patients' age, gender, tumor location and size (P>0.05). Log-rank test showed that low-level miRNA-1290 expression had a prominent impact on the patients' RFS (P=0.004). Conclusively, miRNA-1290 might be a valuable prognostic biomarker and efficient therapeutic target for sacral chordoma.