Abstract:
OBJECTIVE To analyze the risk factors for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and the diagnostic value of serum miR-424 and miR-222 expression for cervical cancer.
METHODS A total of 110 patients diagnosed with cervical cancer via cervical biopsy (cervical cancer group), 59 patients diagnosed with cervical lesions (cervical lesion group) and 110 healthy women who underwent cervical screening (control group) during the same period were selected from Hubei Provincial Hospital of TCM between Mar. 2019 and Dec. 2023. Cervical cell samples from all subjects were tested for high-risk HPV infection, and serum levels of miR-424 and miR-222 were measured. Logistic regression analysis was employed to identify factors influencing high-risk HPV positivity. The diagnostic value of miR-424, miR-222 and high-risk HPV for cervical cancer was evaluated.
RESULTS Serum miR-424 expression was lower, while miR-222 expression and the proportion of high-risk HPV positivity were higher in patients from the cervical lesion group and cervical cancer group than in the control group (P<0.05). Serum miR-424 expression was lower, while miR-222 expression and the proportion of high-risk HPV positivity were higher in the cervical cancer group than in the cervical lesion group (P<0.05). High-risk HPV-positive patients had a higher proportion of first sexual intercourse at ≤20 years (33.33%), the proportion of advanced clinical stage (Ⅲ–Ⅳ) (57.69%) and miR-222 expression (2.89±0.64), but lower miR-424 expression (0.43±0.05) compared to high-risk HPV-negative patients (P<0.05). First sexual intercourse at ≤20 years (OR=1.755), low miR-424 expression (OR=2.139) and high miR-222 expression (OR=1.755) were identified as risk factors for high-risk HPV positivity (P<0.05). The combined diagnostic model of miR-424, miR-222 and high-risk HPV exhibited an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.908, outperforming individual markers (P<0.001).
CONCLUSIONS In patients with high-risk HPV-positive cervical cancer, serum miR-424 expression is lower while miR-222 expression is higher. Serum miR-424 shows a negative correlation with high-risk HPV positivity, whereas miR-222 exhibits a positive correlation. The combined diagnostic value of miR-424, miR-222 and high-risk HPV demonstrates promising clinical utility for cervical cancer detection.