Identification of prognostic and subtype-specific potential miRNAs in thymoma

Aim: We performed a study to identify the role of microRNA in thymoma. Patients & methods: One hundred twenty-three thymoma patients with clinical information and miRNA expression data from The Cancer Genome Atlas were included in the study. Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis was integrated in our analysis. Results & conclusion: Seven miRNAs were found to be associated with overall survival (p < 0.001). Another four miRNAs were found to be associated with disease-free survival (p < 0.001). Type C thymoma can be distinguished from nontype C thymoma by miRNAs. Interestingly, seven miRNAs showed both prognostic and subtype-specific potential. Our findings suggest that miRNAs can be used for prognostic prediction and subtype stratification.