Seyedhoseini Seyedmovahed, Mohtasham Nooshin, Saghafi Shadi, Alahkhani Negin, Mohajertehran Farnaz, Afzaljavan Fahimeh, Shakeri Mahammad Taghi, Bokharaei Amirkian
Dental Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Rep Biochem Mol Biol. 2025 Jan;13(4):456-465. doi: 10.61186/rbmb.13.4.456.
Early detection of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is essential for improving treatment outcomes. Oral lichen planus (OLP) is recognized as a premalignant condition that may progress to OSCC. Recently, microRNAs, particularly miR-let-7a, have emerged as promising biomarkers for gene regulation and early disease diagnosis. This study aimed to evaluate the expression level of miR-let-7a in OSCC and OLP patients, and to compare it with healthy controls, to determine its potential as an early diagnostic marker.
In this cross-sectional study, serum samples were collected from 36 OSCC patients, 38 OLP patients, and 38 healthy controls. Diagnosis of OSCC and OLP was confirmed via biopsy. Serum RNA was isolated, and after quality verification, cDNA was synthesized. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to assess miR-let-7a expression across the three groups. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS version 16.0.
Significant differences in miR-let-7a expression were observed among the groups. Mean expression levels of miR-let-7a were 1.55 ± 1.19 in OSCC, 2.97 ± 2.00 in OLP, and 7.02 ± 4.10 in the control group (p< 0.001). Lower miR-let-7a expression in OSCC was notably correlated with adverse clinicopathological features, including higher tumor grade (p < 0.001), advanced clinical stage (p= 0.011), larger tumor size (T2) (p< 0.0001), and lymph node involvement (p< 0.0001).
The findings demonstrate that miR-let-7a expression is significantly reduced in OSCC and OLP patients compared to healthy controls, highlighting its potential as an early biomarker for detecting malignant transformation in oral lesions and understanding disease progression in OSCC and OLP.
早期发现口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）对于改善治疗效果至关重要。口腔扁平苔藓（OLP）被认为是一种可能进展为OSCC的癌前病变。最近，微小RNA，特别是miR-let-7a，已成为基因调控和疾病早期诊断的有前景的生物标志物。本研究旨在评估miR-let-7a在OSCC和OLP患者中的表达水平，并与健康对照进行比较，以确定其作为早期诊断标志物的潜力。
在这项横断面研究中，收集了36例OSCC患者、38例OLP患者和38例健康对照的血清样本。通过活检确诊OSCC和OLP。分离血清RNA，经质量验证后合成cDNA。采用定量实时PCR（qRT-PCR）评估三组中miR-let-7a的表达。使用SPSS 16.0版进行统计分析。
各组间miR-let-7a表达存在显著差异。OSCC组miR-let-7a的平均表达水平为1.55±1.19，OLP组为2.97±2.00，对照组为7.02±4.10（p<0.001）。OSCC中较低的miR-let-7a表达与不良临床病理特征显著相关，包括更高的肿瘤分级（p<0.001）、晚期临床分期（p=0.011）、更大的肿瘤大小（T2）（p<0.0001）和淋巴结受累（p<0.0001）。
研究结果表明，与健康对照相比，OSCC和OLP患者中miR-let-7a表达显著降低，突出了其作为检测口腔病变恶性转化以及了解OSCC和OLP疾病进展的早期生物标志物的潜力。
