Abstract:
OBJECTIVE To analyze the risk factors for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and the diagnostic values of serum miR-424 and miR-222 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 level was lower, while miR-222 level and the proportion of high-risk HPV positivity were higher in the cervical lesion group and cervical cancer group than in the control group (P<0.05). Serum miR-424 level was lower, while miR-222 level 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 high proportion of first sexual intercourse before 20 years old (33.33%), high proportion of advanced clinical stage (Ⅲ–Ⅳ) (57.69%) and miR-222 level (2.89±0.64), but low miR-424 expression (0.43±0.05) compared to high-risk HPV-negative patients (P<0.05). First sexual intercourse before 20 years old (OR=1.755), low miR-424 expression (OR=2.139) and high miR-222 level (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 level is relatively low while miR-222 expression is relatively high. 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.