MicroRNA-30e and MicroRNA-223 Expression for Early Diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Associated with Hepatitis C Virus

Background. The goals of this study were to elucidate the use of the expression of microRNA-30e (miR-30e) and microRNA-223 (miR-223) as diagnostic biomarkers for early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Methods. The study included three groups, the first group included thirty patients with HCC associated with HCV, the second group included thirty patients with cirrhosis with HCV and the third group included thirty healthy control subjects. Blood samples were obtained for determination of serum expression of miR-30e and miR-223 by real time polymerase chain reaction. Results. There was significant decrease of miR-30e of expression in patients with HCC (0.16 ± 0.1) compared to both patients with cirrhosis (0.4 ± 0.2, P