Open AccessDynamics of Circulating miR-122 Predict Liver Cancer and Mortality in Japanese Patients with Histopathologically Confirmed NAFLD and Severe Fibrosis Stage
Author(s) -
Norio Akuta,
Yusuke Kawamura,
Fumitaka Suzuki,
Satoshi Saitoh,
Yasuji Arase,
Nozomu Muraishi,
Shunichiro Fujiyama,
Hitomi Sezaki,
Tetsuya Hosaka,
Masahiro Kobayashi,
Mariko Kobayashi,
Yoshiyuki Suzuki,
Kenji Ikeda,
Hiromitsu Kumada
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.987
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 1423-0232
pISSN - 0030-2414
DOI - 10.1159/000519995
Subject(s) - medicine , liver biopsy , gastroenterology , stage (stratigraphy) , biopsy , nonalcoholic fatty liver disease , cumulative incidence , cancer , fibrosis , liver cancer , fatty liver , pathology , disease , biology , cohort , paleontology
It is unclear whether the relationships between changes in fibrosis and circulating microRNA-122 (miR-122) dynamics might influence the prognosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods: This study investigates the impact of serum miR-122 dynamics and histological changes on the incidence of liver cancer and mortality in 81 Japanese NAFLD patients who underwent serial liver biopsies. The median interval between the first and second liver biopsies was 2.9 years. Results: The fibrosis stage scores indicated progression, no change, and improvement (a decrease of one point or more) in 21.0%, 56.8%, and 22.2% of the patients, respectively. There were 64 patients in the high-risk group who had no improvement in stage scores. Among these, the miR-122 levels were significantly lower in 7 patients with liver cancer than those of the 54 patients who had no liver cancer at the second liver biopsy. The cumulative rates of liver cancer were significantly higher in cases with miR-122 ratios <0.5 (serum miR-122 level at second biopsy to that at first biopsy) than those with ratios ≥0.5. The cumulative survival rates in cases with miR-122 ratios <0.5 tended to be lower than those with ratios ≥0.5. Of the 64 high-risk patients, 39 indicated stage 2 or greater (severe fibrosis stage) at the first liver biopsy and also showed similar results of cumulative liver cancer and survival rates. Conclusions: Longitudinal examination of serial liver biopsies indicated that the circulating miR-122 dynamics might be useful in predicting the prognosis for NAFLD patients with severe fibrosis stage and no improvement of the stage scores.