Serum level of miR-10-5p as a prognostic biomarker for acute myeloid leukemia

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a type of small non-coding RNA molecule that play important roles in tumor initiation, chemotherapy response, promotion, and progression by negatively interfering with gene expression. The aim of the present study was to investigate the serum expression status and explore the prognostic significance of miR-10a-5p in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The serum expression level of miR-10a-5p in de novo AML was significantly higher, compared with that in controls. The area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was of 0.831 in the diagnostic value of miR-10a-5p. In the complete remission (CR) group, the serum expression level of miR-10a-5p was similar to that of healthy subjects and demonstrated a significant downtrend when compared to that on the day of diagnosis. Nevertheless, miR-10a-5p expression was found to significantly increase in cases of relapsed AML when compared individually to the CR population. On analysis of the association of miR-10a-5p expression with the clinical characteristics at diagnosis in AML patients, lower CR rates occurred more frequently in the high-expression group. In addition, high miR-10a-5p expression was associated with poorer overall survival (OS). These data suggest that miR-10a-5p may serve as a biomarker useful to improving the management of AML patients.