Plasma Exosomal miRNA-139-3p is a Novel Biomarker of Colorectal Cancer

Objectives: This study investigated plasma exosomal miRNA-139-3p as a blood-based biomarker for the early diagnosis and metastasis monitoring of colorectal cancer (CRC).Patients and Methods: Exosome-rich fractions were isolated from the plasma of 80 CRC patients, and 23 controls using a kit method.We then used real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to detect miR-139-3p levels in all subjects to evaluate expression levels and the predictive value of plasma exosomal miR-139-3p in CRC.We also collected clinicopathological data to explore correlations between abnormal miR-139-3p expression and clinicopathological parameters.Results: When compared with healthy controls, exosomal miR-139-3p expression levels in CRC patients were significantly down-regulated.Furthermore, these expression levels were lower in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) and submucosal patients.Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that exosomal miR-139-3p levels were differentiated between CRC patients and healthy controls, as well as between non-metastatic and metastatic patients.Conclusion: Our findings show that decreased exosomal miR-139-3p expression levels in CRC patient plasma may act as a novel biomarker for the early diagnosis and metastasis monitoring in CRC.