Table 1. miRNAs as potential diagnostic markers for CRC.
| miRNA | Sensitivity, % | Specificity, % | AUC | Sample size, n | Endogenous control | Remarks | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plasma miRNA | |||||||
| miR-17-3p | 64 | 70 | CRC: 0.717 (95% CI: 0.63–0.80) | 140 (90 CRC, 50 control) | RNU6B | Upregulated in CRC plasma | Ng et al (2009) |
| miR-92a | 89 | 70 | CRC: 0.885 (95% CI: 0.83–0.94) | 140 (90 CRC, 50 control) | RNU6B | Upregulated in CRC plasma, could distinguish CRC from other GI cancer and IBD, not associated with TNM stages | Ng et al (2009) |
| miR-92a | 84 | 71.2 | CRC: 0.838 (95% CI: 0.775–0.900) | 196 (100 CRC, 37 advanced adenomas, 59 control) | miR-16 | Upregulated in CRC plasma, not associated with TNM stages | Huang et al (2010) |
| 64.9 | 81.4 | Advanced adenomas: 0.749 (95% CI: 0.642–0.856) | |||||
| miR-29a | 69 | 89.1 | CRC: 0.844 (95% CI: 0.786–0.903) | 196 (100 CRC, 37 advanced adenomas, 59 control) | miR-16 | Upregulated in CRC plasma, associated with advanced TNM stages | Huang et al (2010) |
| 62.2 | 84.7 | Advanced adenomas: 0.769 (95% CI: 0.669–0.869) | |||||
| Faecal miRNA | |||||||
| miR-92a | 50 | 80 | — | 133 (59 CRC, 74 control) | Equal amount of total RNA | Upregulated in stool of CRC patients | Wu et al (2010) |
| miR-21 | 50 | 83 | — | 133 (59 CRC, 74 control) | Equal amount of total RNA | Upregulated in stool of CRC patients | Wu et al (2010) |
| miR-17-92 cluster | 69.5 | 81.5 | — | 316 (197 CRC, 119 control) | U6 snRNA | Upregulated in stool of CRC patients | Koga et al (2010) |
| miR-135 | 46.2 | 95 | — | 316 (197 CRC, 119 control) | U6 snRNA | Upregulated in stool of CRC patients | Koga et al (2010) |
Abbreviations: AUC=area under the ROC curve; CI=confidence interval; CRC=colorectal cancer; GI cancer=gastrointestinal cancer; IBD=inflammatory bowel disease; miRNA=microRNA; snRNA=small nuclear RNA; TNM=tumour-node-metastasis.