Abstract

Background: Previous studies demonstrated the critical role of miRNAs in carcinogenesis. Aberrant expression of miR-127-3p and miR-144-3p have been revealed in several types of cancers. Methods: Expression levels of miR-127-3p and miR-144-3p were detected in the plasma of patients with gastric cancer (GC) using fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction to recognize potential non-invasive biomarkers for GC and evaluated the relationship between their expression and clinicopathological parameters of GC. Results: The results showed miR-127-3p and miR-144-3p expression levels were significantly decreased in plasma of GC patients (p = 0.003 and p < 0.001, respectively) and the expression level of miR-144-3p was associated with tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging. In addition, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated the area of miR-127-3p and miR-144-3p under the ROC curve for GC diagnosis were 0.664 and 0.741, respectively (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The expression levels of miR-127-3p and -144-3p were downregulated in the plasma of GC patients that may participate in the pathological process of GC and act as potential tumor biomarkers.